ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

Names: Espinoza, Hireese Leigh G.

Grade and Section: 11- Chronicles

WRITING CRITIQUE PAPER

Topic: Five Feet Apart ( Production companies: Welle Entertainment, Wayfairer Entertainment,
Distributor: CBS Films, Cast: Haley Lu Richardson, Cole Sprouse, Moises Arias,
Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Parminder Nagra, Director: Justin Baldoni, Screenwriters:
Mikki Daughtry, Tobias Iaconis, Producers: Cathy Schulman, Justin Baldoni, Director of
photography: Frank G. DeMarco, Production designer: Tony Fanning, Costume
designer: Rachel Sage Kunin, Editor: Angela M. Catanzaro, Music: Brian Tyler, Breton
Vivian, Casting: Barbara J. McCarthy, Rated PG-13, 115 minutes )

I choose to utilize formalist criticism as my method of analysis because, while viewing it,
I had a sense of enjoyment, which allows me to declare that I can offer analysis on the subject's
formal features or actual meaning rather than the creator's or my own feelings. I respect the
film's worth considering it to be a work of art.

Since "Five Feet Apart" is a lovely movie that just so happens to be about sick teenagers
and doesn't wish to demean or exalt anyone, it feels like a real advancement in the sick teenage
movie genre. The film features a topic of genetic disorders. The sick-teen romance genre is an
odd little subgenre. Because it tries way too hard to be melodramatic, "Five Feet Apart" ends up
being merely a pedestrian entry in it. There is a sincere portrayal and is obviously supported by
two outstanding performances from Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse were delivered.

The story which is somehow an adaptation of a "Romeo and Juliet" idea which revolves
around two young lovers who have an unlawful relationship. And in this film the severe genetic
respiratory disorder of Stella, which has a low life expectancy affects their relationship. It is
difficult because, in the movie, CF patients must maintain a minimum 6-foot separation from one
another in order to prevent dangerous cross-infection. This is a particular hardship for a couple of
17-year-olds who are experiencing their first real love.

Although the movie maintains faithful to the facts of the condition, the plot is a very
Hollywoodized youthful romance with a few wild sequences to up the drama. The fact that "Five
Feet Apart" has a genuine voice and viewpoint is what matters most. Stella's knowing
soulfulness brings to life every phase of her journey, from her grief and rage to the way she
unwillingly allows herself to fall in love with Will.

Both Sprouse and Moises Arias, who portrays her closest buddy Poe, a different patient,
perform at her level. It's amusing to watch Sprouse go from a cynical, too-cool-for-school CF
patient to a young guy with some hope and stake in the outcome—if not for himself, then for her.

The film is produced with an astonishing amount of assurance and force. Despite the fact
that the entire tale takes place in a hospital, it captures the sense of place—the culture, the
people, and the landscape—yet it never feels constricting or oppressive. It gives these gloomy,
fluorescent-lit passages a groove as pop music drives the tempo.

The audience may unintentionally squirm at a simple move like raising a hand due to the
5-foot rule Stella "steals" a foot back). The first date scene between Will and Stella at the
hospital pool is tense and thrilling as the young lovers’ desire for one another from an unbearably
safe distance due to the length of a pool cue.

In a movie that primarily aims to make teenagers cry, they manage to make you care
about their characters, which is no small accomplishment. They have little power, though. You'd
think that two teenagers falling in love even though they are aware that they are only breathing
on borrowed time would be enough to keep the intended audience interested.

The film, however, has little faith in that audience. Here, too much is never enough,
which ironically has the consequence of muting any possible emotional response to what's
happening in the characters' lives. Teenage life is challenging enough. It must be more difficult
to be a sick teen. In "Five Feet Apart," being a teenager also means having to deal with overkill.
And that is fatal.
 Overall, the theme of "Five Feet Apart" is never far away as the main characters struggle
to survive while trying to experience everything life has to offer. The cynical way Will says it,
"It's just life, it'll be over before you know it," turns into a mantra that means something new
every time. Life is short and will end before we know it, so why waste time?

Reference:

Lippincott, R., Daughtry, M., & Iaconis, T. (2018). Five Feet Apart. Simon & Schuster Childrens
Books.

"Five Feet Apart". AMC Theatres. Retrieved from https://www.amctheatres.com/movies/five-

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