Honestly, it’s been years since Stella and Will sat on that hospital floor with a pool cue between them, but people still can't stop talking about a dos metros de ti. On the surface, it’s your classic tear-jerker. Boy meets girl. Both are terminal. They can't touch. It’s Romeo and Juliet with oxygen tanks and hand sanitizer. But if you talk to anyone actually living with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), the movie feels a lot more complicated than just a sad Friday night on Netflix.
It’s heavy.
The film, directed by Justin Baldoni, follows Stella Grant and Will Newman, played by Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse. They have a disease that produces thick, sticky mucus in the lungs and digestive system. Because of the risk of cross-infection—specifically Burkholderia cepacia in Will’s case—they have to stay six feet apart. Stella, being the defiant one, decides to "steal" one foot back. Hence the title, a dos metros de ti (which translates to Five Feet Apart in the original English release, though technically two meters is closer to six feet, but we’ll let the math slide for the sake of the metaphor).
The Medical Reality vs. Hollywood Magic
Let’s get the big question out of the way first: Is the six-foot rule real? Yes. 100%. In the CF world, this isn't some romantic plot device cooked up by a screenwriter; it is a life-or-death guideline from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. When two people with CF get close, they exchange bacteria that their bodies can’t fight off. What’s a mild cough for a healthy person can be a death sentence for a CF patient.
The movie got a lot right because they actually did their homework. Claire Wineland, a legendary CF activist and creator who passed away before the film’s release, served as a consultant. You can see her influence in the way Stella decorates her room. It’s not a sterile hospital ward; it’s a bedroom. It has lights, art, and personality. That’s a real thing. Long-term patients basically live in those rooms for months at a time.
But then, Hollywood kicks in.
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There’s a scene where Stella and Will are out on the ice. Stella falls through. Will has to give her CPR. In reality, that mouth-to-mouth contact would be an absolute catastrophe for their lung health. The movie treats it as a "sacrifice for love," but for the CF community, it was a moment that made many people cringe. You spend your whole life sanitizing every doorknob just to throw it all away for a dramatic third-act beat? It’s a tough pill to swallow.
Why Haley Lu Richardson Carries the Film
Haley Lu Richardson is the secret sauce here. She plays Stella with this frantic, Type-A energy that feels incredibly authentic to many "Salty Girls" (a nickname some women with CF use). Stella isn’t just sad. She’s busy. She’s obsessive. She has a YouTube channel. She organizes her meds like a project manager.
Cole Sprouse’s Will is the classic "brooding artist" trope. He’s cynical because he’s tired of being a lab rat. Their chemistry works because it highlights the two ways people deal with chronic illness: you either try to control every single molecule of your environment, or you give up and stop trying.
The supporting cast, especially Moises Arias as Poe, adds the real emotional weight. Poe is Stella's best friend, also a CF patient. When he dies—spoiler alert, though the movie has been out for ages—it hits harder than the romance. Why? Because it captures the specific loneliness of being in a hospital where you can hear your best friend coughing through the wall but can't go in to hug them while they're scared.
The Controversy You Might Not Know About
When a dos metros de ti first started its marketing campaign, the CF community was split. Some people were thrilled. Finally, a movie that wasn't about cancer! A movie that showed the grueling reality of "shaker vests" (High-Frequency Chest Wall Oscillation) and the endless piles of pills.
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Others were terrified.
There was a real fear that the movie would glamorize the "forbidden love" aspect and encourage real-life CF patients to break the six-foot rule. And honestly? That’s a valid concern. Online forums were buzzing with stories of teenagers meeting up at CF clinics because they wanted their own "Will and Stella" moment.
The film tries to balance this by showing how sick Will actually is, but it’s still a movie starring two very attractive actors. It’s hard to make a feeding tube look "cool," but Hollywood finds a way.
Breaking Down the Daily Grind
If you really want to understand the world of a dos metros de ti, you have to look at the numbers. We're talking:
- 30 to 40 pills a day just to digest food.
- Hours of nebulizer treatments.
- The constant shadow of a lung transplant.
- The "CF cough" that sounds like your chest is full of gravel.
The movie shows the treatments, but it can't truly convey the smell of the hospital or the sheer exhaustion of just trying to breathe. It’s a full-time job. Stella isn’t just a student; she’s a professional patient.
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The Legacy of the Pool Cue
That pool cue Stella carries around? It’s exactly five feet long (or roughly 1.5 meters). It’s a physical manifestation of her boundary. In the film, she uses it to keep Will at a distance while still being "connected" to him.
It’s a clever metaphor for the digital age, too. Most people with CF find their community online. They are the original experts in "social distancing" long before 2020 made it a household phrase. They have spent decades building deep, meaningful friendships through screens because they can’t be in the same room. In a weird way, a dos metros de ti was ahead of its time in showing how you can love someone you can’t touch.
Is It Worth a Rewatch?
If you're looking for a cry, yeah. It’s a well-made film. The lighting is beautiful, the acting is top-tier, and the ending—while divisive—doesn't take the easy way out. It leaves you in a place that feels honest to the unfairness of the disease.
But if you watch it, do so with the knowledge that for thousands of people, this isn't a "brave" story. It’s just Tuesday.
The real experts on this topic aren't the actors or the director. They are the people like the late Claire Wineland or the advocates at the CF Foundation who work every day to make sure that one day, nobody has to stand two meters apart.
Practical Steps for Fans of the Movie
If the story of Stella and Will moved you, don't just leave it at the credits. Here is how you can actually make an impact:
- Learn the Difference: Research the difference between "regular" infections and the specific risks like B. cepacia or Pseudomonas that affect CF patients.
- Support the Science: Look into the work being done on CFTR modulators like Trikafta. These drugs are literally changing the DNA of the disease for many patients, making the "six-foot rule" less of a death sentence for future generations.
- Donate Directly: Instead of just buying the DVD or streaming it again, consider a small donation to a CF-related charity. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) or similar local organizations are the ones funding the cures.
- Respect the Rules: If you ever meet someone with CF, or see someone wearing a mask in public (even post-pandemic), remember that for them, it's not a political statement or a movie plot. It’s their life. Give them the space they need without making it a thing.
The movie a dos metros de ti did its job. It brought a rare disease into the spotlight. Now, it's up to the viewers to see the real people behind the fictional romance. It's a story about boundaries, but more importantly, it's a story about why those boundaries have to exist in the first place. Breathe easy.