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Five Feet Apart

Name: Five Feet Apart
Director: Justin Baldoni
Released: 2019
Duration: 116 min

Representation Score

6.4/10

Good

2019

PG-13

Director

Justin Baldoni

Runtime

116 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Five Feet Apart succeeds by centering the lived experience of chronic illness rather than sanitizing it. By focusing on the grueling realities of cystic fibrosis, the film grants its characters dignity and ability to act. The narrative avoids common clichés, instead exploring how medical restrictions impact human connection. However, the film's scope is limited by its narrow focus on a heterosexual romantic arc. While it offers strong representation for disability and women's ability to drive the story, it lacks LGBTQ+ inclusion and broader systemic critiques of Western institutions. Ultimately, the film disrupts romantic genre expectations by prioritizing the struggle for bodily autonomy within a clinical environment.

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Category Breakdown

Does Five Feet Apart have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The story focuses on a heterosexual relationship between the main characters and does not include LGBTQ+ characters or narratives that challenge the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender.

How does Five Feet Apart portray gender?

Fair

Stella is the primary driver of the emotional arc, demonstrating significant intellectual and emotional strength. The film avoids the damsel in distress cliché by emphasizing her role in driving the story.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Five Feet Apart?

Good

The casting of Haley Lu Richardson provides a more inclusive protagonist compared to typical young adult romances. However, the hospital setting remains somewhat homogeneous despite this nuanced casting.

How does Five Feet Apart represent religion and culture?

Fair

The narrative explores the tension between medical protocols and individual autonomy. It portrays systemic management of bodies as a barrier to human connection and emotional fulfillment.

Does Five Feet Apart include disability representation?

Excellent

This is the film's strongest area, focusing on the unglamorous realities of cystic fibrosis. It treats physical constraints with dignity rather than using disability as mere inspiration porn.

Present on Screen

Exceptional disability representation that avoids 'inspiration porn' by showing the unglamorous realities of cystic fibrosis.
Strong women's ability to drive the story, presenting Stella as an intellectually and emotionally capable driver of the story.
A nuanced approach to the tension between institutional medical authority and individual human autonomy.

Limited or Absent

A lack of LGBTQ+ representation or narratives that challenge the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender.
Limited racial and cultural diversity within the clinical hospital setting.
The absence of a broader critique regarding the systemic or institutional structures presented.

Official Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Stella spends most of her time in the hospital as a cystic fibrosis patient. Her life is full of routines, boundaries and self-control — all of which get put to the test when she meets Will, an impossibly charming teen who has the same illness. There's an instant flirtation, though restrictions dictate that they must maintain a safe distance between them. As their connection intensifies, so does the temptation to throw the rules out the window and embrace that attraction.

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