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.

TMDb rating4.1

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.

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.

The Fault in Our Stars poster

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.

Everything Sucks! poster

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.

Never Have I Ever poster

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.

My Sister's Keeper poster
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.

The Summer I Turned Pretty poster

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.

Stuck in Love poster

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.

Love, Simon poster

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.

The Spectacular Now poster

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.

Heartstopper poster

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.

Dash & Lily poster

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.

Firefly Lane poster

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.

The Worst Person in the World poster

People

Cast

Directing

Writing

Production

Recommended by