Forbidden Touch: A Movie Review for Five Feet Apart

In the past years, romantic relationships between teenagers have been knocking
the hearts of the viewers. Last 2014, "The Fault in Our Stars" whom the main woman
lead had thyroid cancer, was considered as a blockbuster movie worldwide especially
here in the Philippines, and just in the previous year, "Midnight Sun" who talks about
xeroderma pigmentosum disease has also been the talk of the media. It’s already
expected that this year, there will be another type of film that deals with this kind of
genre.
Justin Baldoni's "Five Feet Apart" joins that list and tackles cystic fibrosis (CF).
This is a genetic disorder that affects the lungs by clogging up its passages with thick
mucus, which causes difficulty in breathing and makes them very much at risk for lung
infections caused by atypical bacteria that require special antibiotics. Because of this,
patients of CF are strictly advised to maintain a minimum 6-foot distance from fellow CF
patients to avoid potentially deadly cross-infections among themselves.
Haley Lu Richardson was a warm and winsome Stella, whom you could not help
but root for. Cole Sprouse plays the brooding bad boy Will whom she could not help but
fall in love with. Like most teen romances, this one also had a talkative gay best friend
character in the person of Poe (Marcus Arias), who was afraid to love because of his
CF.
This whole movie showed a very interesting flow of emotions despite having too
common storyline. It is tempting to dismiss this story as “sick-lit” but director Justin
Baldoni balances the compelling specifics of CF with the larger questions we all face
about creating meaning in a world of uncertainty and loss. And he did it with two gifted
and appealing young stars, especially Richardson, whose exquisitely expressive face
showed us every hope, fear, hesitation, regret, and longing Stella was feeling.
Baldoni clearly learned a great deal from his “My Last Days” television series
documenting the lives of terminally ill people, including a teenager with CF, and he
shows sensitivity and insight in exploring these issues within a fictional story. He makes
the most of the way he uses the hospital setting, the atrium lobby with its drab, sturdy
institutional furniture. As Stella and Will fall in love, it seems warmed by their tenderness
and excitement. However, this movie also contained some elements that may not
upright for others specifically, with the use of curse words throughout the film, the
discussion of premarital sex and same sex marriage. A movie will always have both
positive and negative elements within it but the beauty will be just dependent on the
perspective of the viewers.
Overall, this Five Feet Apart movie is beautiful and hopeful, problematic and
tragic—especially for younger viewers. This movie had tackled so much information that
were needed to be known for academic and medical purposes. Also, bringing inspiration
and changing the perspective of the viewers to love and to hope despite life being so
cruel are also a good point. The two-hour film is worth the tears and laughter.