A silver lining to a dark cloud makes a good visual. Similarly, a melodramatic and depressing romance makes attractive viewing, which “Five Feet Apart” with its message – ‘Life is too short to waste a second’ – is.
This film’s title refers to the ‘six-foot rule’, a guideline which states that cystic fibrosis patients should be kept at least six feet apart from each other, to lower the risk of cross-infection.
Set in a hospital, it is the story of two terminally ill teenagers — Stella Grant (Haley Lu Richardson) and Will Newman (Cole Sprouse) — suffering from cystic fibrosis, who fall in love despite never being able to come closer than, you’ve guessed it, five feet from one another.
Stella with a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder and waiting for a lung transplant is exasperated by brooding artist Will’s lack of discipline and apparent lack of motivation when he is put on a new trial drug meant to battle his illness. How they break the barriers and fall in love, is what keeps you glued to the screen.
BY TROY RIBEIRO
