We all know how hard people in long distance relationships have it. The constant ache of missing someone you love so much, not getting to see them every day, not being able to hold their hand, hug them or even kiss them to express just how much they mean to you. Imagine feeling that way when they are standing right in front of you but still, they are impossible to touch.

Based on the novel “five feet apart” by Rachael Lippincott, the film centres around two terminally ill teenagers Stella and Will who fall in love at the hospital they reside in. The characters are the physical definition of the phrase “so close yet so far away” as their condition of cystic fibrosis puts a 6 feet distance between them at all times to prevent cross-infection between patients. Stella who also has clinical obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) becomes flustered due to Will’s lack of regard for his prescribed regiment. To appease Stella’s anxiety over his unconventional approach towards his treatment, Will agrees to carry out his treatments with Stella so she can keep tabs on him all while being 6 feet apart. Through taking their medication together in chocolate pudding cups over facetime, exercising together at the hospital gym, to sharing their common pain of illness, the pair inevitably fall in love. Since every great love comes with a gamble and because their disease has stolen so much from their lives growing up, they decide they will make the exception and steal back 30.48 centimetres, 12 inches or 1 foot and risk a 5-foot apart distance, in the name of love.

The film takes the viewer on a whirlwind of emotion through the unlikely couple’s relationship. Its twists and turns tackle the trauma of illness, loss and longing the characters go through in their lives. With many comparing the film to the blockbuster hit The Fault in Our Stars it is no secret that this film was made to turn on the waterworks of audiences worldwide. 5 feet apart is a definite much watch for those who love a classic deep romance with a spin.  As a rom-com lover myself, I give this movie 4/5 stars!

Written by: Karisha Partabrai