(Wikimedia Commons)
Directed by Justin Baldoni and starring the well known Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson from Riverdale and The Edge of Seventeen, Five Feet Apart hit theaters on March 15.The film’s title comes from a six-foot separation from rule that two patients with cystic fibrosis must follow because they could risk catching each other’s condition. This rule changes to “five feet” when a nurse bends the rules.
Both Stella and Will had been living with cystic fibrosis since birth, takes a toll on Stella’s mental health. She is often seen re-organizing her medicine to be perfect or strictly following her daily schedule of when to take her medication. On the other hand, the severity of Will’s condition makes him unable to see the point in trying to survive. When they meet, their lifestyles for the better. She becomes more laid- back, and Will gets more serious about taking care of himself. Their opposite personalities are one of the things that make them so compatible.Will and Stella are stuck in a hospital, but even so they decide to live their lives to the fullest. Once they realize that they are not in this fight alone, this reality improves their happiness.
Most of the film is shot in the hospital, which reveals how much time a hospital consumes patients and doctors’ lives. Many scenes show Stella looking out her hospital bedroom window to the city. The window represents how close she is to living a normal life, but also how far. Ever since Stella’s sister mentions visiting the city, it is becomes Stella’s dream to see the big lights.
This film brings an awareness it brings to cystic fibrosis. Before watching this film I knew what cystic fibrosis was, but I was not aware of the serious effects: it affects primarily the lungs, which limits the ability to breathe properly. Over 70,000 people are diagnosed with this disease worldwide.
This film both brings an awareness to a disease affecting people around us, and it showcases what it means to live and the importance of living your life to the fullest.
