Mark Reviews Movies: FIVE FEET APART

Become a fan on Facebook Follow on Twitter

Review by Mark Dujsik | March 14, 2019

Another entry in that strange sub-genre of romantic stories, in which two people fall in love while at least one of them is suffering from a terminal disease, Five Feet Apart comes quite close to telling such a story without resorting to cheap, disrespectful, and unrealistic melodrama. For the first two acts, the movie treats these characters as more than the fact of the disease from which they suffer.

Each of them has a distinct personality that means each of them responds to their circumstances differently. There's nothing generic about the trio who make up the central characters here, so their hopes, their outlooks, and their attitudes are unique. By the time it becomes clear that two of them will fall in love, we've come to like them enough that we root for the romance's success—as medically unwise as that romance may be.

It's the third act, though, that sends the entire enterprise off the rails, in ways that, while relatively subtle compared to what could have happened, go against the movie's previous focus on characters over situations. Until then, it's a sweet and surprisingly sensitive story, with characters who are wise about what their illness means to themselves and others.

The disease in focus is cystic fibrosis (CF), a rare genetic disorder that causes a build-up of mucus in the lungs, which can lead to assorted and persistent bacterial infections, and affects the digestive system. Stella (Haley Lu Richardson, in a dynamic performance that cements her as one of the best actors of her generation), our main protagonist who was born with the disorder, has been making a series of online videos since she was barely a teenager, explaining the basics of the disease to viewers and allowing them to catch a glimpse of what treatment is like. For the audience, the videos provide a crash course in the specifics of CF, with Stella explaining her situation with a matter-of-fact, sometimes jokey tone that lets us know there's more to the character than her condition.

While Stella's attitude may be tough and cheery, Richardson and director Justin Baldoni don't shy away from the physical realities of the disorder—from the scars, from previous surgical measures, covering her body and the hacking fits of coughing to clear out the mucus. On a psychological level, Stella has become obsessive about her treatments, even making a phone app that helps people with chronic conditions keep track of their treatments. There's a reason for her obsessive nature, having to do with the death of her older and healthy sister, that isn't quite as simple as it first appears.

Stella is in the hospital—a regular occurrence—for a "tune up," with pill after pill of antibiotics and daily respiratory treatments, while her friends are leaving for a winter vacation to some sunny locale. The other central characters are Stella's best friend Poe (Moises Arias), a gay teenager who's a few rooms down from her own, and Will (Cole Sprouse), the guy who eventually becomes the object of her affections. Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis' screenplay may not give these other two characters equal time, but it does give them equal weight in terms of how they're coping with and understanding the consequences of living with CF, which often goes against the happily extroverted ways of Poe or the sarcastic nihilism of Will.

If there's a "gimmick," it's that people with CF cannot come into close proximity with each other, lest an airborne infection spread. It's a painful reality, but perhaps that's why there is more to these characters than the disease and some mushy romance. They have to talk to each other in order to connect.

Watching these characters is to be reminded of how often movies about illness get it wrong in a variety of ways. Here, we have actual people, with goals and dreams and a range of emotions that aren't halted because of a diagnosis. There's no sense of inevitable, pre-ordained tragedy to their lives. Even within the confines and among the restrictions of the hospital, these characters find ways to live beyond treatments and surgeries. When they speak of their critical condition—assigned at birth—and death, a feeling of defeat is absent, because the movie is far more interested in making us care about these characters' lives than in trying to exploit the idea of their deaths.

The romance, then, is quite affecting, because here are two intelligent young people, wise beyond their years but with the reckless ignorance that comes with young love. It arises out of a conflicting worldview (Stella is determined to live, and Will, who has developed aggressive infection, doesn't care so much anymore), a genuine sense of compassion (She wants to help him, and he comes to understand that need on her part), and the mutual realization that they share something more than a hospital wing and a disease.

This movie gets so much right—in its depiction of actual characters who happen to be sick, without disregarding their humanity or the illness—that it's a genuine shame the filmmakers stumble so much in the third act. Five Feet Apart ultimately gives in to the unfortunate melodrama, filled with ridiculous coincidences and overblown scenarios, that we had been fearing. It comes so close, only to run away when it matters the most.

Back to Home

Buy Related Products

Buy the Soundtrack (Digital Download)

Buy the Deluxe Soundtrack (Digital Download)

Buy the DVD

Buy the Blu-ray