Five Feet Apart

Lionsgate | Release Date: March 15, 2019

7.8	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 125 Ratings

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Compi24Mar 19, 2019

I'm sure the filmmakers' intentions were nowhere near this bad, but what I gleaned from "Five Feet Apart" as a depiction of cystic fibrosis is that the disease itself is much less of a debilitating illness as it is a borderline **** plotI'm sure the filmmakers' intentions were nowhere near this bad, but what I gleaned from "Five Feet Apart" as a depiction of cystic fibrosis is that the disease itself is much less of a debilitating illness as it is a borderline **** plot device that's keeping two horny teenagers from making out, ultimately romanticizing and -- in turn -- minimizing a very un-romantic and serious disease in the real world. Couple that with all of the treacly, "Everything, Everything" meets "The Fault In Our Stars" sort of sweetness that veers so heavily into quirk that it breaches into insanity, and you end up with a truly frustrating cinematic experience. Why are we still doing these? What diseases are we going to Hollywood-ize next? Leprosy? Osteogenesis imperfecta? "I can't love you because if we make love I'll LITERALLY fall apart"? It's nonsensical and, most importantly, condescending to those few people who actually struggle with this very real, very unglamorous disease. At least "The Fault In Our Stars" depicts cancer, something most of us are going to get anyway. And at least the disease in "Everything, Everything" -- you find out -- is simply made up. This feels like a weird attempt at exploiting an illness for the purposes of manipulating an audience's emotions. I'm tearing into the foundation of this movie hardcore, yes, but it's important that intentions be hammered out in the scripting/development stage. Like, of paramount importance. Overall, the acting is good, sure. And even the filmmaking borders on competent. But I just can't get behind movies that are this out of touch with reality.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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TrevorsViewMar 21, 2019

We each have our time-wasting habits that cause us to forget just how short life really is. You could anticipate habitually checking on social media to last only a minute, then suddenly a half hour later are googling why you should useWe each have our time-wasting habits that cause us to forget just how short life really is. You could anticipate habitually checking on social media to last only a minute, then suddenly a half hour later are googling why you should use bourbon for a chocolate chip cookie recipe. Those procrastination moments halt our livelihood to borderline existing in solitude, sleepless with apple pie a la mode heated without the strawberry ice cream (or non-canned whipped cream) on top. Five Feet Apart attempts to dramatize that concept of how valuable time with others is, but ultimately dissatisfies anyone who is not of its intended age group, as much as it gets some core ideas right.

The focus centers around two patients suffering from cystic fibrosis, Stella and Will, whose idiocy harms each other to the extent where they’re hard to cheer on. Even while Will later displays a heart, it ultimately satisfies your moral high ground once they reap what they sow. Everyone else around them, patients and staff, acts aloof due to the weakly written tragedy, in empty attempts to replicate another classic romance, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Putting the two between ice and stars does not make Will less of a jerk, nor does copying that iconic shot make Stella as empathetic as Clementine Kruczynski.

Although Stella and Will could die any day, alone, hospitalized, of which the movie mostly stays inside of; the emotional separation enables easy befriending of sadness like any emotional separation you’ve felt before. You will remember those broken bonds as the camera emphasizes Stella and Will’s six-foot distance; much different than the intent of most romantic dramas that want to get intimate, this pulls back to set the waterworks off.

Plenty of details expose Stella’s living condition in a nutshell: a stuffed panda gift from her dead sister connects to bamboo that decorates a meditation room she sits in, which in turn is the subject of a poster on her door. Together, these subtle clues generate comprehension out of her desperate search for peace amidst the chaos. Then, it all takes a maximum strike when a surreal dream sequence pops her sister’s art to life; it’s a visualization of survivor’s guilt closer than ever before.

The director, Justin Baldoni, has a humble way of emphasizing the natural look as if it where a documentary—through techniques picked up from documentaries he directed in the past. Yet Baldoni does get carried away with the use of shaky-cam to the point where it obnoxiously disrupts calm scenes. There are also obtrusive elements that “pep” up the image, like graphics projecting text messages, that appear incredibly out of place.

At least those graphics don’t arise during the couple’s gentler exchanges of what they fear about what happens after death. However, even the emotional highs abuse the playing of unnecessary pop songs which fail to project Stella’s college-age girl mind, when an original score would have worked better. Still though, the love-birds’ existential crisis remains genuine, with the gross symptoms of Stella’s body causing fear of whether she will die right there.

There’s little reason to stay happy, so Stella cheers herself, along with the audience, up through a regularly updated vlog that explains everything, particularly why cystic fibrosis is such a thief. It helps Stella and Will bond after their instant connection in person, a source of joy that gets stronger as Will draws the apple of his eye by the window. It’s a Jack-Rose bond that fuels the romance and sets a strong contrast against the adults in control of their routines; focus wisely stays on the younger generation without its abuse on authority breaking a chain link from happiness.

Except one ultimate strike makes the experience less joyful: the characters get too much freedom to the extent of being unrealistic; they seriously can go to the gym or rooftop whenever without supervision. There needs to be an explanation to how this incompetent hospital operates, instead of some manipulative video footage starting and ending this film. Also, how on earth did Will get cologne despite literally having no money!? Too little focus on simple explanations make the writing resemble a sappy teen romance novel. While life may be too short for rules, it’s also too short for on-the-nose statements the couple says like, “God, you’re beautiful.”

As time goes by, you should find far stronger applications to livelihood than wasting time on Netflix, that being the love of another. Five Feet Apart attempts to restore your confidence, and won’t succeed in doing that for everyone, but its visualized importance of community can be just enough to lift today’s youth back up by the bootstraps.… Expand

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JoeCoolNov 1, 2019

Romantic drama about two people with the same terminal illness. Touching and humorous at times, though missing a certain quality that I'm having a hard time putting my finger on. It's not the acting, but maybe it's just that the Fault in ourRomantic drama about two people with the same terminal illness. Touching and humorous at times, though missing a certain quality that I'm having a hard time putting my finger on. It's not the acting, but maybe it's just that the Fault in our Stars is the better movie in every way.… Expand