Five Feet Apart (2019)

Seventeen-year-old Stella (Haley Lu Richardson) has just gone back into hospital for monitoring and management of her cystic fibrosis, a condition she has suffered from for her entire life. She has just said goodbye to her two best friends who are off on the trip of a lifetime, a trip she arranged and planned for the three of them, a trip she would be on herself if she wasn't back in hospital.

Her parents, Tom (Gary Weeks) and Erin (Cynthia Evans), are recently divorced, and visit her separately now.

She has made herself quite at home in her hospital room, turning it into her own personal space with artwork, photographs, personal items, and so on. Her best friend, Poe (Moises Arias), who she has known since the two of them were six, is on the ward at the same time, and the two of them still have a very close friendship.

Stella (Haley Lu Richardson).

She is even close to the nurses who have been caring for her for many years, Barb (Kimberley Hébert Gregory) and Julie (Emily Baldoni).

And when she meets fellow patient Will (Cole Sprouse) - who seems a little more blasé about his condition - the same cystic fibrosis but with another condition on top of it - the two of them click (almost) immediately. They both take an interest in each other but, due to their condition, are unable to come within six feet of each other, or they risk infecting the other with their own bacteria.

They both struggle with their feelings for one another and the position of the nursing staff, but somehow manage to become very close.

Poe (Moises Arias).

The screenplay, written by Mikki Daughtry & Tobias Iaconis, is incredibly clever, and not merely because of the brilliant premise the film addresses. All of the characters - including the seemingly minor characters - have plenty of conflicts, both internal and external. The script is injected with just the right amount of humour, while obviously dealing with some very serious issues at the same time.

The soundtrack consists primarily of songs, with only small sections of underscoring. The score, by Brian Tyler & Breton Vivian, may at first sound simple - and indeed in terms of instrumentation, it is - but it is actually filled with nuance and is profound in its effectiveness, complementing the on-screen action perfectly and conveying so much about the inner emotions of the characters and the depth of the situations.

Frank G. DeMarco's cinematography is gorgeous, with a truly brilliant use of light and dark, and plenty of shadow in the frequent exterior nighttime scenes.

Will (Cole Sprouse).

The production design, courtesy of Tony Fanning, is also fantastic. As you might expect, the majority of the film is set inside a hospital, but the set design within that conveys plenty of character information with beautiful subtlety.

Where this film truly shines is most assuredly in the performances of the cast, particularly Richardson and Sprouse, who portray their respective characters with so much realism, every scene is just dripping with emotion and pathos. In every scene, I found myself moving from laughter to tears and back again repeatedly. Every performer is invested in the realism of the story, but these two are definitely the standouts, and - if this film is any indication - both will surely have long and stellar careers ahead of them.

First-time director Justin Baldoni has created an absolutely beautiful film here, one that I know I will enjoy watching again and again. If you haven't seen it yet, make sure you check it out soon (just remember the tissues, and don't say I didn't warn you).

10 out of 10.