Photo Courtesy of EW.
I was very much relieved that “Five Feet Apart,” a recent romantic drama film was more than just another cliche love story between two ill teenagers. The film follows the story of two teenagers who have been hospitalized with cystic fibrosis (CF) and try their best to create a relationship for themselves without physical interactions.
The film stars “The Edge of Seventeen” actress Haley Lu Richardson as Stella and “Riverdale” actor Cole Sprouse as Will. It’s no surprise that their characters fall in love and their cute dates for sure warmed the hearts of the audience in the theater. This warm-hearted feeling later turned over to bringing most of the theater to tears.
Stella’s relationship with Will raises the question: how do two people fall in love with each other if they can’t touch? They hold hands by holding onto separate ends of a pool stick measuring five feet apart hence the film’s title. The disease requires CF patients to remain six feet part from each other at all times so their germs don’t come in contact with one another, but Stella and Will decide to risk the extra foot after CF has taken so much from them.
After seeing the film, CF YouTuber (cystik1) who goes by the name Morgan, vlogged about how “Five Feet Apart” does CF “justice.” He found that even the film’s little moments were spot on, particular Stella and Will’s relationships with their mothers. This is one of the many parts Morgan said he could relate to.
However, as expected controversy arose after the film was released in theaters last Friday. While many people related to the film or had their heartstrings pulled, many others thought the film contained medical inaccuracies and romanticized what it’s like to live with CF.
According to an article published on refinery29.com, Stella and Will should be wearing masks way more often than they actually do and that it seems unrealistic they can afford facilities such as the meditation room or pool. They quoted Kayla Ariana, a 19-year-old girl living with CF who has reviewed the book “Five Feet Apart” about how she thinks the film fails to show how difficult it actually is to breathe and how self-conscious one may feel about it.
Although the majority of the film’s reviews and ratings seemed to have been positive as people have come to realize that fictional stories can only be so accurate in the filmmaking industry. All in all, this film stands out and is stronger than past ‘sick teenagers fall in love’ films such as “The Fault in Our Stars.”
Stella’s character is compelling as she is so determined to live and for those around her to do the same. Her illness doesn’t define her character as you can tell that she’s just like any other 16 or 17 year old girl who has feelings for a boy who likes her back. She facetimes her best friends, she gets dressed up for dates, but she doesn’t let others walk over her. Stella’s traits bring a sense of realism to the film.
It’s also interesting to note that real-life CF patient Claire Wineland was part of the film’s inspiration which shows that Director Justin Baldoni received input from someone living with this disease. Having Wineland’s input can be seen as a valuable resource as Baldoni strived to make the film accurately reflect what it’s like living with CF while also shaping a love story.