Five Feet Apart

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Five Feet Apart
A boy and a girl facing each other.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJustin Baldoni
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyFrank G. DeMarco
Edited byAngela M. Catanzaro
Music by
Production
companies
  • CBS Films
  • Welle Entertainment
  • Wayfarer Entertainment
Distributed by
Release date
  • March 15, 2019 (2019-03-15)
Running time
116 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7 million[3]
Box office$91.5 million[4]

Five Feet Apart is a 2019 American romantic drama film directed by Justin Baldoni (in his directorial debut)[5] and written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis. The film was inspired by Claire Wineland, who suffered from cystic fibrosis.[6] Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse play two young patients with cystic fibrosis, who try to have a relationship despite always being forced to stay a certain distance (5 ft) away from each other. It was released in the United States on March 15, 2019 by CBS Films via Lionsgate.[1] The film received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed over $91 million worldwide.

Plot[]

Two teenagers, Stella Grant (Haley Lu Richardson) and Will Newman (Cole Sprouse) both have a genetic disease known as Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Two people with CF must not get closer than six feet to prevent cross-infection. Stella, determined to make it out of the hospital one day, is strict with her medication. Will prefers to slack off and avoid his responsibilities, angering her. Will, who has contracted B. Cepacia, is part of a new drug trial, and does not have a lung transplant for him, while Stella has been on the transplant list for a long time. She later finds out that Will is not doing his treatments, and tries to help him. In return, Will only asks her for permission to draw a picture of her. Over time, they begin doing their treatments together. Will and Stella fall in love, but can't get closer than six feet of each other.

Stella's G-tube later gets infected and she has to undergo surgery to get it replaced. Stella's sister, Abby, who was normally with Stella during surgery, died from a botched daredevil stunt. This has left Stella with severe survivor's guilt, who now faces surgery alone. Will, having learned about Abby's death, goes to accompany Stella and sings her the song Abby would always sing her before surgery.

As Will leaves Stella's surgical prep room, he is caught by a nurse named Barb. Barb tells him a story about two people with CF who fell in love with each other; both of whom died from being near each other and cross contracting each other's bacteria. Will does not want to hurt Stella, so he says he can not see her anymore. Stella becomes upset and angry. She later plans an attempt to meet Will. She decides to take back one foot that CF had stolen from her. She carries around a pool stick which measures exactly five feet; keeping her and Will five feet apart at all times.

On Will's birthday, Stella's best friend Poe, another CF patient, dies. As an act of rebellion to CF, the two decide to leave the hospital to visit the lights that she could see from her hospital room, which Stella has always wanted to do before.

While away from the hospital, Stella receives a text that her lung transplant is en route, which she promptly ignores. Stella falls through the ice of a frozen pond as she and Will leave to go back to the hospital.

Will reaches into the water and pulls out a nearly dead Stella. Even though saliva contact is the worst for two people with CF, he gives her CPR to save her life. Stella survives and Will and Stella are brought back to the hospital. Because of the CPR he had given her, Will fears that she has now contracted B. Cepacia. Stella is given her lung transplant which goes all according to plan and, miraculously, she has not contracted B. Cepacia.

Meanwhile, Will finds out that the drug trial he has been on has not been working for him. After her transplant, while under anesthesia, her parents, Will's mother, and the nurses and doctors all agree to help Will set up the lights outside of Stella's room.

After realizing the he will likely infect her after her transplant is complete, Will decides to say a final goodbye to Stella, confessing his love for her. Before he leaves, she is given his sketchbook of drawings he had done of her and her friends during their stay in the hospital.

Cast[]

Production[]

In January 2017, Tobias Iaconis and Mikki Daughtry sold their untitled screenplay to CBS Films for Justin Baldoni to produce and direct.[7]

Baldoni first became involved with cystic fibrosis when he directed the documentary My Last Days. He met YouTuber Claire Wineland and subsequently hired her as a consultant for the film, before she died from complications of a lung transplant for CF.[8]

In January 2018, Cole Sprouse was cast to star in the film, titled Five Feet Apart.[9][10] In April of that year, Haley Lu Richardson was also set to star, and Moisés Arias joined in a supporting role.[11][12] Principal production began a month later on May 25 in New Orleans,[13][14] and concluded another month later on June 26.[15]

The film's title refers to the "six foot rule", a guideline from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation which states that cystic fibrosis patients should be kept at least six feet (1.8 m) apart from each other, to lower the risk of cross-infection. In 2020, about a year after the movie's release, a similar guideline for social distancing, would become universal, to help slow the spread of COVID-19, during the pandemic.[16]

A novelization of the same name by Rachael Lippincott was published in November 2018.[17]

Brian Tyler and Breton Vivian composed the score. The soundtrack was released on Lakeshore Records.

Release[]

The film was released on March 15, 2019, by CBS Films via Lionsgate.[18] The studio spent $12 million on prints and advertising.[19]

Reception[]

Box office[]

Five Feet Apart grossed $45.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $34.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $80.1 million, against a production budget of $7 million.[4]

In the United States and Canada, Five Feet Apart was released alongside Captive State and Wonder Park, and was projected to gross $6–10 million from 2,600 theaters in its opening weekend.[20][3] The film made $5.4 million on its first day, including $715,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $13.1 million, finishing third, behind Captain Marvel and Wonder Park.[19] The film fell 35% in its second weekend, grossing $8.5 million, and just 27% in its third to $6.3 million.[21][22]

Critical response[]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 53% based on 128 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Elevated considerably by Haley Lu Richardson's performance but bogged down by clichés, Five Feet Apart doesn't tug at the heartstrings quite as deftly as it should."[23] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[24] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while filmgoers at PostTrak gave it 3+1⁄2 out of 5 stars.[19]

Andrew Barker of Variety praised the performance of Richardson, which he called "a star turn," though described the film as an "otherwise formulaic teen romance."[25] Katie Walsh of the Los Angeles Times acclaimed Richardson for the depth and range of her performance.[26] Caroline Siede of The A.V. Club commended the lead performances, but said "In the end... even Richardson and Sprouse can't fully overcome the clumsy mawkishness around them."[27]

Response from cystic fibrosis community[]

Responses from the cystic fibrosis community were mixed. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation welcomed the opportunity to raise awareness about the struggle many patients experience with the disease,[28] while others found fault with the film's depiction of medically dangerous behavior.[29] Others voiced concern about a terminal illness being romanticized and trivialized as a Hollywood teen love plot device.[30]

The film was promoted using Instagram, where the studio paid influencers to post about hardships involving love and physical distance.[30] Many of the posts discussed family members who lived far away; the promotion was perceived as tone-deaf and trivializing a fatal disease.[31] After the ensuing backlash, the campaign was pulled and the studio apologized.[31]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Lionsgate Takes Over CBS Films' Distribution & Global Sales". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. November 13, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  2. ^ "Five Feet Apart". AMC Theatres. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca (March 13, 2019). "Box Office: 'Captain Marvel' Heads for Heroic Second Weekend". Variety. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Five Feet Apart (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  5. ^ Carlin, Shannon (January 30, 2018). "Cole Sprouse Is Starring In Justin Baldoni's Directorial Debut & It Sounds Like A CW Dream". Bustle. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Cohen, Elizabeth. "'Fault in Our Stars': Katie Prager dies". CNN. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  7. ^ Busch, Anita (January 26, 2017). "CBS Films Buys Untitled Justin Baldoni Pitch In Vein Of 'The Fault In Our Stars'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  8. ^ "Five Feet Apart Paints Complicated Portrait of CF". CBS News.
  9. ^ Kit, Borys (January 30, 2018). "'Riverdale' Star Cole Sprouse to Star in Romantic Drama 'Five Feet Apart' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  10. ^ McNary, Dave (January 30, 2018). "'Riverdale' Star Cole Sprouse Joins Romance Drama 'Five Feet Apart'". Variety. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  11. ^ Vlessing, Etan (April 12, 2018). "Moises Arias Joins Cole Sprouse in Romantic Drama 'Five Feet Apart'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  12. ^ Hipes, Patrick (April 12, 2018). "Haley Lu Richardson To Star With Cole Sprouse In 'Five Feet Apart'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  13. ^ Steves, Ashley (n.d.). "Now Casting: Child Actors Wanted to Portray Patients in 'Five Feet Apart' Starring Cole Sprouse + 3 More Gigs". Backstage. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  14. ^ Scott, Mike (April 25, 2018). "Who's filming in Louisiana: From 'Captain Marvel' to a new 'Purge'". NOLA.com. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  15. ^ "FIVE FEET APART". www.facebook.com. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  16. ^ Epstein, Adam (November 5, 2018). "Cystic fibrosis advocates are worried about the upcoming film "Five Feet Apart"". Quartz. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  17. ^ "Rachael Lippincott '13 Publishes Five Feet Apart". George School. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  18. ^ McNary, Dave (May 31, 2018). "Film News Roundup: Haley Lu Richardson-Cole Sprouse's 'Five Feet Apart' Set for March Release". Variety. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  19. ^ a b c D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 17, 2019). "'Captain Marvel' Rises To Second Best 2nd Weekend In March With $69M+ – Sunday AM Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  20. ^ Faughnder, Ryan (March 13, 2019). "'Captain Marvel' is likely to crush 'Wonder Park' at the box office". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  21. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 24, 2019). "How Universal Drove Jordan Peele's 'Us' To $70M+ Opening, The Best Start For A Live-Action Original Since 'Avatar' – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  22. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 31, 2019). "'Dumbo' Hovers Low With $46M+ But Hopes On Matinees; Matthew McConaughey Hits Bottom With $1.7M 'Beach Bum'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  23. ^ "Five Feet Apart (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  24. ^ "Five Feet Apart Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  25. ^ Barker, Andrew (March 14, 2019). "Film Review: 'Five Feet Apart'".
  26. ^ Walsh, Katie. "Review: 'Five Feet Apart' elevates the sick teen genre with a poignant love story". latimes.com.
  27. ^ Siede, Caroline. "The maudlin Five Feet Apart anoints a new pair of winning young stars". Film.
  28. ^ "Five Feet Apart". Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. n.d. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  29. ^ Prahl, Amanda (March 4, 2019). "Five Feet Apart: The Science Behind the Serious Medical Condition in the New Film". PopSugar. Retrieved March 24, 2019 – via news.yahoo.com.
  30. ^ a b Smith, Erika W. (March 18, 2019). "Five Feet Apart: All The Controversies, Explained". Refinery29. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  31. ^ a b Wyant, Paige (March 12, 2019). "Influencers Delete 'Five Feet Apart' Ads After Backlash From Cystic Fibrosis Community". themighty.com. Retrieved March 24, 2019.

External links[]

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