FIVE FEET APART
A tender hospital romance that asks what love is worth.
Should You Watch It?
Five Feet Apart has a compassionate center. Stella and Will care for each other, encourage each other to follow medical routines, and try to give each other hope. Stella also believes life is worth living and speaks about an afterlife.
But the movie’s romantic message is risky: follow your heart no matter the consequences. The film’s positive moral elements are weakened by more than 25 obscenities and profanities, no mention of God, meditation, and possible reincarnation. The romance also includes sexual references.
The two-star rating reflects an entertaining movie that drags, feels overlong, and never becomes memorable. Watch at home only if you are a discerning adult prepared to discuss both its care for others and its worldview.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESStella spends much of her life in the hospital managing cystic fibrosis with strict dedication. There she meets Will, another teenager with the disease who is not following his treatment routine.
As Stella urges Will to take better care of himself, the two begin spending time together. Because their illnesses make them especially vulnerable to each other’s sickness, they must remain five feet apart—even as their friendship deepens into love.
Is It Any Good?
Two stars means this is watchable but falls short of memorable. The premise offers opportunities for poignant moments, and the characters’ care for each other gives the story some emotional and moral substance.
Still, the movie drags. Some scenes feel as though they could have been edited out to improve the flow. The acting is nothing to write home about, though it is not distracting. Ultimately, the script needed several more revisions to make the story more powerful.
The Worldview
The film has a strong Romantic worldview: it presents following your heart as worthwhile no matter the consequences. Stella and Will’s love is risky because of their illness, yet the story treats their romantic bond as something to pursue.
The movie also shows meaningful care. The main characters do things for each other that benefit and help the other person. Stella encourages Will to continue his medical treatments, and she gives him hope by speaking about an afterlife and insisting that life is worth living.
The spiritual picture is less clear. There is no mention of God. Stella meditates, and a New Age poster appears on a wall. When she speaks about the afterlife, she may be implying reincarnation rather than a biblical afterlife. The movie’s care for others is a genuine moral strength, but its romantic message places personal feeling above consequences.
Scripture calls us to care for one another: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Biblical love is not merely following the heart; it seeks another person’s true good.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Strong Romantic worldview about following your heart, one homosexual relationship is mentioned, some solid moral elements about caring for each other, main character helps another character to stay healthy and gives him hope of the afterlife, but no mention of God, character meditates, there’s a New Age poster on the wall, when character talks about afterlife they may be implying reincarnation
Foul Language
19 obscenities, one GD and seven light profanities
Violence
No violence but there’s jeopardy and sickness
Sex
One kiss, character jokes about using protection, mentions of fornication
Nudity
Upper male nudity and a girl appears in a bra
Alcohol Use
No alcohol use
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drugs;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Nothing else objectionable.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Stella and Will care for each other in practical ways. How is biblical love different from simply following your feelings?
1 Corinthians 13:4–7 · John 13:34–35Stella encourages Will that life is worth living. Where can a Christian find hope when life is marked by sickness?
Romans 8:18 · Revelation 21:4The film mentions an afterlife without mentioning God. What does Scripture teach about eternal life and who gives it?
John 3:16 · John 11:25–26Caring for another person sometimes requires difficult choices. How can we seek another person’s good even when emotions pull us elsewhere?
Philippians 2:3–4 · Galatians 6:2The Final Word
Five Feet Apart has a sincere concern for caring for others, but its romantic message, spiritual confusion, and foul language outweigh its modest strengths. Its entertainment value is not enough to justify a theater trip. For discerning adults who want to watch and discuss it, choose home viewing. WAIT FOR HOME — ADULTS ONLY. For other options, see.
