Film

The Space Between Us

Name: The Space Between Us
Genre: Romance, Science Fiction, Drama
Released: 2017
Cast: Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson, Carla Gugino, Gary Oldman, Janet Montgomery

Science fiction

A teenager born on Mars arrives on Earth for the first time, discovering both the planet and human connection. It's a gentle sci-fi romance that treats wonder and awkwardness with equal tenderness. For anyone who's felt like an outsider, or who believes love can bridge any distance—literally.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a sweet, earnest romance with a sci-fi tilt, where the wonder of seeing Earth through fresh eyes outweighs the plot mechanics.

Skip it if the story leans on earnest, sometimes sappy romance and a familiar emotional arc, and at over two hours it can feel stretched.

What it asks of you: At 121 minutes it moves at an unhurried pace, with long stretches of quiet talk and wide-eyed wandering rather than constant action, and sentiment played straight.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Fault in Our Stars2014

Two teenagers navigate love while grappling with mortality. Like Space Between Us, it finds genuine emotion in young romance without cynicism, balancing humour with real stakes.

But The emotional beats can feel orchestrated. Some find the dialogue overly quippy for the weight it's supposed to carry.

Interstellar2014

Epic sci-fi that privileges wonder and connection over spectacle. Both films believe that love and human bonds matter more than the cosmos around them.

But Nearly three hours long with dense, sometimes unclear exposition. The romance subplot may feel secondary to the spectacle.

About Time2013

A film about connection across impossible distances—literally time itself. Warm, funny, and surprisingly moving about family and the people we choose.

But The sci-fi element is almost incidental. Some find it saccharine or overly sentimental.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Space Between Us

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Amélie2001

Both films believe that awkward, isolated characters deserve tenderness and beauty. Both are shot and scored like love letters to connection itself.

A lonely person learning to connect with the world through small acts of kindness and love. Visually whimsical and emotionally genuine—exactly the tone Space Between Us reaches for.

But French, subtitled. The whimsy might read as precious or the pacing too meandering for some viewers.

The 5th Wave2016

Young outsider trying to navigate a hostile world and find trust in another person. Similar blend of isolation, romance, and learning to belong.

But Feels formulaic and suffers from inconsistent pacing. The world-building doesn't always convince.

Arrival2016

Thoughtful sci-fi about communication and connection across unbridgeable difference. Beautiful cinematography and an emotional core that earns its ending.

But Cerebral and slow. If you want action, this introspective meditation will frustrate you.

The Host2013

Adaptation of another Stephenie Meyer romance set in a sci-fi world. Same sensibility: earnest, character-focused, prioritising emotion over hard science.

But Many found it forgettable. The world-building and romance compete awkwardly with each other.

Ender's Game2013

A young person isolated from their world learns to connect with another outsider. Explores alienation and the cost of being different in a hostile environment.

But The adaptation simplifies the novel substantially. Some scenes feel rushed and the emotional climax underwhelms.

Everything Everywhere All at Once2022

Wildly imaginative sci-fi about connection and love across realities. Chaotic, joyful, and genuinely moving about finding your place in the universe.

But Aggressively weird and fast-paced. If you prefer straightforward storytelling, this will exhaust you.

Everything Everywhere All at Once poster

The Martian2015

A stranded person learning to survive alone on an alien world. Shares the Mars setting and the focus on ingenuity, humour, and human resilience.

But Almost no romance or personal relationships. Survival beats character development for much of the runtime.

Euphoria2019

Gardner's complete naïveté about Earth mirrors Rue's disorientation within her own world. Both explore what it means to be a young person seeing your environment clearly for the first time.

Complex, gorgeous drama about young people navigating identity, connection, and belonging. Raw and immediate in ways that Space Between Us isn't, but with the same emotional core.

But Extremely dark, graphic, and uncompromising about adolescent struggle. Its intensity can be punishing rather than cathartic.

The Shape of Water2017

Both centre on love between someone human and someone fundamentally 'other'—not as transgression but as the most natural thing in the world. Both assert that connection transcends category.

A lonely woman and a non-human creature form a connection that transcends difference. Gorgeous, tactile, and genuinely romantic in a way that feels both fantastical and true.

But Slow-moving and deliberately artificial in its tone. The relationship between human and non-human might strike some as uncomfortable.