Most romance stories end with a kiss
This one begins with six feet of space.
In “Five Feet Apart,” Haley Lu Richardson plays Stella, a teenager who has Cystic Fibrosis (CF), a fatal genetic lung disease that causes mucus to build up in the lungs, causing difficulty in breathing and putting patients at risk of life-threatening infections. The rule? CF patients must keep a safe distance from each other so that they don’t exchange bacteria that can kill them.
It’s not the sort of plot you see in every teen movie, and that is what makes it pack such a punch.
The film does a reasonable job of depicting some of the draining regimens that CF patients must endure daily, the inhalers, the chest pain, the continual checking of oxygen levels, and the endless hospital appointments.
For the majority of teenagers with CF, these treatments are not a “once in a while thing.” They are as routine as brushing your teeth, and only skipping them could put you in the ICU.
The film also nails the social reality of the illness: the isolation. Real-life CF patients typically must avoid in-person contact with other CF patients, even if they meet online and become best friends, because each other’s germs can be deadly. That’s not a Hollywood trope but a real, heartbreaking rule.
Naturally, films adore their romance, and Five Feet Apart is no different. Though the emotional center of the movie is compelling, it still falls into the traditional “tragic but beautiful” teen love aesthetic soft lighting, hospital rooftop moments, and impeccably timed witty remarks. In real life, the day-to-day fatigue, side effects of treatments, and unexpected hospital stays usually don’t leave much space for lengthy, profound chats beneath fairy lights
When a film like this becomes mainstream, it raises awareness for a condition that most individuals have never heard of. That’s powerful. But it’s essential to keep in mind that real-life CF doesn’t conclude nicely in two hours, and not every patient will receive dramatic, Instagram-worthy moments.
For teenagers who watch, it’s a reminder that chronic is not just a matter of “being strong”, it’s a matter of adjusting to reality that is physically and emotionally exhausting.
Five Feet Apart is the rare example of Hollywood doing its homework and speaking with people who actually have CF, and it pays off. However, it its important to state that the illness is not a prop for romance, it’s a life-altering disease that affects thousands of real people every day. If you walk out of the movie feeling moved, that’s great, but it also compels you to find more, speak out, and donate to medical research. Because in real life, the nearer we are to a cure, the better.
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