Heartstopper Forever is streaming globally now on Netflix.
Synopsis
In this final film Nick and Charlie are inseparable, but with Nick preparing to leave for university and Charlie finding new independence at school, the reality of a long-distance relationship begins to weigh on them. Doubts take hold, and their relationship faces its biggest challenge yet. Meanwhile, their friends are also navigating the ups and downs of love and friendship, confronting the bittersweet challenges of growing up and moving on. Can first loves really last forever?
Review
It’s time to say goodbye to one of the most important LGBTQ+ stories of modern times as Netflix brings Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper to an end with a feature-length finale. Can Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie’s (Joe Locke) relationship survive the end of school? Fans of the book no doubt already know the answer to that question. But for the rest of us we have a poignant, sometimes tear-jerking, 1hr 54 minute journey to get there.
Picking up directly after season 3, Heartstopper Forever is not a jumping-on point; this is 24 episodes’ worth of plot threads reaching their natural conclusion, so there’s homework required before diving in. But for those ready, this so-called film (it really is an extended finale) rewards patience regardless of which character you’re rooting for. While it rightly centres Nick and Charlie, it doesn’t forget Tao (William Gao), Elle (Yasmin Finney), Isaac (Tobie Donovan), Tara (Corinna Brown), Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) or Imogen (Rhea Norwood).
The performances in Heartstopper Forever are easily the best we’ve seen from this cast. The young cast has grown up before our eyes over the past four years. But regardless of how far their personal stars have risen there’s absolutely none of that on screen here.
Even with his established role in the MCU, Joe Locke is the natural embodiment of Charlie Spring. Oseman’s adaptation of her own work affords him a new level of confidence following the events of season 3. The small callbacks to earlier seasons diligently reflect how far he has come. This is validated further as he becomes Head Boy at Truham school, vowing to protect others from experiencing the same level of bullying.
Meanwhile Kit Connor is showing a much broader range as Nick balances weighing up his own future against the future of his relationship. Connor came to Heartstopper as the most experienced actor so it’s great to see Oseman giving him more challenging material. Once again it’s his relationship with his mother (Anna Maxwell Martin replacing Olivia Colman) which strikes particularly deeply alongside his compelling chemistry with Locke.
As for the rest of the cast, it’s really Yasmin Finney who stands out. There’s a marked difference in Elle’s level of screen time when compared to Locke and Connor. But with William Gao at her side, both are able to leave a lasting impression as Tao and Elle’s relationship flows towards a very natural end-point. Oseman has always been sensitive to current events in the LGBTQ+ community and the debate around trans rights is an important factor in Elle’s story. Finney perfectly carries off a particularly emotional scene with Charlie, Tao and Isaac that encapsulates the feelings of plenty of the film’s target audience. The moment barely makes a dent in the runtime but leaves a lasting impression on the audience thanks to Finney’s visceral performance.
For fans of Isaac, Tara and Darcy, their characters do suffer the most from Heartstopper Forever’s truncated runtime. But each is still ever present throughout and is given a send-off which allows for their arcs to feel completed. There’s no doubt that with more time there would have been more development but fans needn’t worry that they’re left out in the cold.
Oseman’s story struggles a little to lend itself to the feature-length format. It would have been better served by a multi-episode season, allowing moments like Charlie and Nick’s breakup (not a spoiler) to properly land. It also would have given more room for the epilogue to sit with each character’s final moments.
Though Heartstopper Forever never feels like it’s racing to the finish line, there is a sense that time is short, and certain beats simply don’t get the space they need to breathe. Nick’s own last days of school go almost entirely unmourned. There’s no moment where he, Tao or Elle sit with what they’re leaving behind. Instead, the film jumps straight from Nick and Charlie’s reconciliation into an end-of-year party that’s never explicitly framed as such; it’s simply everyone together with their teachers one last time, before cutting straight to the epilogue and university life. Netflix’s decision to compress this into a single film does Oseman’s plot a disservice in that way. But all credit goes to her script in that it finds creative and meaningful ways to work within a runtime shorter than eight episodes would have allowed.
But does this feel like a film? Ultimately no and it would be unfair to critique Heartstopper Forever against genuine theatrical fare. This is an extended final episode and that’s exactly how the story is structured. Visually however there is a step up in quality. Director Wash Westmoreland and his crew have elevated the Heartstopper aesthetic which feels in line with the characters growth and maturity. The sporadic sex scenes are more suggestive than graphic, keeping the film suitable for the series’ younger audience. And sensitive subjects are handled with the right level of gravitas in both tone and how they are shot. All of which is given a sprinkle of Oseman magic with added animated elements which sit perfectly within the frame as they have throughout the series’ history.
Ultimately, Oseman scripting the adaptation of her own work is what makes Heartstopper unstoppable. Her understanding of tone and the audience is unparalleled. It would be easy to discredit the film (and the series) as portraying its characters too young. But to do so would entirely obliterate the fact this story is the perfect education to young people on how to navigate the LGBTQ+ community. It never sugarcoats but it also never shies away from showing there’s true happiness to be found amongst your peers.
Verdict
Heartstopper Forever squeezes eight episodes’ worth of story into under two hours and, for better or worse, it shows. But Oseman’s own hand on the script, paired with the best performances this cast has ever given, ensures the emotion never gets lost in the runtime. Heartstopper leaves exactly as it arrived: unashamed, unhurried, and utterly essential to the LGBTQ+ community who found themselves in it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
