Stella lives and breathes for routines. Will, on the other hand, lives and breathes for going against the rules. Despite the difference, they’re brought together by their illness, but also by Will’s persistence. Stella’s OCD drove her to organize Will’s life, which inevitably strengthened the pairs connection. Stella gave Will’s life direction whereas Will gave Stella the courage to live; she decided to step one feet closer in spite of the crucial six feet apart rule among cystic fibrosis patients.
Moisés Arias’ portrayal of Poe, Stella’s best friend, definitely brought an edge to the movie. He brought authenticity to Poe’s character as Stella’s unrelenting support system. Arias also showed the tribulations of maintaining a healthy relationship while being a cystic fibrosis patient, essentially one of the most emotionally captivating moments in the movie. Furthermore, Arias added comic relief to the otherwise morbid subject of cystic fibrosis by consistently making sexual innuendos. The director and producers did a touching job capturing the pool scene, the panning of the cameras maximized the intended emotional effect.
The general public reaction mainly focuses on how emotionally moving the movie is. This rings true for actual cystic fibrosis patients. They’re appreciative of how realistic the movie is medical wise with the tube feeding and the high frequency chest wall oscillation, in other words, the vest. Although they’ve determined that certain events in the movie are improbable, but have chalked it up to hollywood’s need to dramatize. For reference, a youtuber, Cyztik1, offers some great incite on how Five Feet Apart resonates with cystic fibrosis patients.
Five Feet Apart is up there with the Fault In Our Stars in terms of teenage tragedy movies. It is rated PG-13, which means that children under thirteen may need parental guidance for certain scenes. If you are looking for a movie that will activate the waterworks and wills you to dive five feet into your feels, then stop reading and go watch it on an illegal site.
