Film
Five Feet Apart
A romance between two chronically ill teenagers in a hospital, constrained by medical protocol that keeps them five feet apart. It's genuinely moving without being maudlin, funny without deflating the stakes, and structured around a rule that becomes both literal and metaphorical. For anyone who's ever felt desire collide with circumstance, or who wants a love story that actually earns its tears.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you want a teen romance that treats its illness as daily texture, and you're happy for the ache of two people who can't simply touch to carry the story.
Skip it if you want a looser, lighter romance, since this one is tightly bound to hospital wards, treatment routines and the heavy weight of a chronic illness.
What it asks of you: Expect a contained run of 116 minutes that lingers in clinics and bedrooms, moving with the patient rhythm of its characters rather than rushing toward a big set piece.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
The Fault in Our Stars2014
Two teenagers with terminal illnesses fall in love with literary grace and dark humour. It finds tenderness in mortality without sentimentality, and the romance feels earned rather than imposed.
But If you've already seen it, the emotional beats will feel familiar. Some find the philosophy heavy-handed.

Everything Sucks!2018
A comedy-drama about misfits in a 1999 high school where two leads slowly realize they're falling for each other. Sharp dialogue, genuine affection between characters, and it never talks down to its teenagers.
But Only one season before cancellation. The show's optimism won't land if you're in a cynical mood.

Never Have I Ever2020
A coming-of-age comedy about a Indian-American girl navigating grief, family, and first love. Funny, warm, culturally specific without being didactic, and genuinely sexy in how it treats teenage desire.
But The voiceover can feel overdone. Some plotlines resolve too neatly for the show's own good.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Five Feet Apart
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
My Sister's Keeper2009
Both center on young people negotiating love and desire while their bodies betray them, but where Five Feet Apart says 'fight for connection,' this one asks 'what if connection itself becomes a burden?'
Also about chronically ill teenagers and their hospital lives, but from a different angle: the ethics of what families owe each other, what bodies are for, whether living is always better than choosing death. It goes darker and more philosophical.
But Emotionally punishing in ways Five Feet Apart isn't. The plot twist divides people sharply on whether it earned it.

More like this (8)
The Summer I Turned Pretty2022
A beach romance with real emotional stakes beneath the sunlit surface. It takes teenage feelings seriously while keeping a lighter touch than Five Feet Apart, and the chemistry crackles.
But Leans toward the romantic-fantasy side rather than grappling with real obstacles. Pure comfort viewing, not challenge.

Stuck in Love2013
A multi-generational romance that shows love as something people have to work at and choose, again and again. Funny, wise, occasionally heartbreaking in small moments.
But Low budget and indie feel won't appeal to everyone. The pacing meanders deliberately, which some find slow.

Love, Simon2018
A teen romance that's genuinely joyful without dismissing the real fear and stakes of coming out. Smart, affectionate, and it trusts its audience's intelligence.
But Some find it too neat in how it wraps up. The mystery plot competes with the romance for focus.

The Spectacular Now2013
A romance between two teenagers from different worlds, grounded in specifics and genuine growth. Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley have real chemistry, and the dialogue sounds like how people actually talk.
But The ending asks you to sit with ambiguity rather than resolve it. The male lead's trajectory is gentler than some might prefer.

Heartstopper2022
A queer teen romance that's genuinely joyful and affirming without being naive about bullying or family pressure. Beautifully shot, funny, and it earned its fanbase by being sincere.
But The gentleness might read as underdramatic if you want more conflict. Some episodes are quite short.

Dash & Lily2020
Two teens fall in love over a journal passed back and forth through New York during the holidays. It's charming, witty, and captures the specific giddiness of early-stage romance.
But Only one season. The whimsical tone won't work for everyone, and some subplots feel thin.

Firefly Lane2021
Both understand that intimacy requires both closeness and vulnerability, and that sometimes the people we most want to be near are the ones we're most afraid to let in.
A decades-spanning friendship drama between two women. It uses the same structure of emotional obstacles and tentative breakthroughs that Five Feet Apart perfects, but applies it to the longest possible timeline.
But Melodramatic in stretches. The constant timeline-jumping can feel gimmicky rather than earned.

The Worst Person in the World2021
Both are about young people learning that love is not a problem to solve but a question you live inside. Both refuse to make desire shameful.
A Norwegian film about a woman in her thirties figuring out what she wants from love and work and becoming. Funny, sexy, formally inventive, and genuinely wise about how desire works and changes.
But In subtitled Norwegian. Deliberately unresolved in ways that frustrate people wanting neat conclusions.

People
Cast
Haley Lu RichardsonStella
Cole SprouseWill
Moisés AriasPoe
Parminder NagraDr. Hamid
Claire ForlaniMeredith
Emily BaldoniJulie
Gary WeeksTom
Cynthia EvansErin
Brett Austin JohnsonJason
Ariana GuerraHope
Sophia BernardAbby
Directing
- Justin BaldoniDirector
- Drew Ann RosenbergFirst Assistant Director
- Sam SullivanScript Supervisor
- Chelsea DonisonSecond Assistant Director
Writing
- Mikki DaughtryWriter
- Tobias IaconisWriter
Production
- Terri DouglasADR Voice Casting
- Barbara J. McCarthyCasting
- Jack SchusterExecutive In Charge Of Production
- Christopher H. WarnerExecutive Producer
- Elston HowardLocation Manager
- Todd SpearsPayroll Accountant
- Cathy SchulmanProducer
- Justin BaldoniProducer
- Ashley T. FarrellProduction Coordinator
- Jon RomanoProduction Executive
- Chelsea KrantProduction Supervisor
- Christopher H. WarnerUnit Production Manager
Recommended by
Me Before You, The Fault in Our Stars, If I Stay, Everything, Everything, Midnight Sun