Heartstopper Forever
The movie of the hit Netflix series that addresses LGBTQ+ issues in the school playground does not disappoint.
Finding a safe place: Joe Locke and Kit Connor
Photo courtesy of Netflix.
by JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Heartstopper is a cultural phenomenon that suddenly feels more necessary now than when it first appeared. With the mounting backlash against a more inclusive world, the final chapter in the Netflix success story is just what everybody needs, give or take Andrew Tate and Nigel Farage. Based on the cult series of graphic novels by Alice Oseman, Heartstopper – which premiered on Netflix in April of 2022 – was a ratings winner, was embraced by everybody from Stephen Fry to Taylor Swift and had a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. What the series had was charm, an open mind and a cast of winning newcomers, besides the wizened veteran Kit Connor (who was 18 at the time). He played Nick Nelson, the star rugby player of Truham Grammar School, who finds himself drawn to a fellow pupil, the sensitive and openly gay Charlie Spring (newcomer Joe Locke), who joins the rugby team to be close to Nick.
With its animated inserts, reliance on mobile phone messaging and a banging, indie-pop soundtrack (including Baby Queen, Maggie Rogers and Noah and the Whale), the series was sweet and strangely touching, with strong support from Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan and, as the voice of the headmaster, Stephen Fry. More significantly, it shone a spotlight on what it means to be different in the brutal world of social media conformity, with Charlie not just coping with his sexuality but with an eating disorder as well. Nick himself swings both ways, while their close confidante Elle is transgender and William Gao, as Tao Xu, the token straight guy. There are other characters, too, on various shades of the sexual spectrum, including asexuality. However, it’s not the sexual identity but the romantic attachment of Nick and Charlie that drives the narrative.
After three successful series, Wash Westmoreland’sfull-length film is the concluding chapter in which all the characters return for one final grand hurrah and where grown-up stuff like sex and impending university starts to muddy the waters. Nick and Charlie still take centre stage and Kit Connor has really grown into the role, with a Robert Pattinson vibe going on. At 114 minutes, many of the minor characters’ engaging subplots have been trimmed, although the likes of Gao, Jenny Walser and Rhea Norwood get to shine, albeit briefly. There’s also a wonderful cameo from Anna Maxwell Martin as Nick’s mother, who sits Nick down at the kitchen table and gives him the sermon he should have had in the first place: “Love is not a cosmic force,” she tells him. “Love is a choice – every day.” In addition, there’s a delightful scene in which Derek Jacobi and his real-life life partner Richard Clifford saunter into the coffee bar where Charlie works to catch up on the crossword. It is moments like these that make Forever a rather special adieu.
In the pantheon of gay cinema, Heartstopper Forever cannot compete with Call Me by Your Name (2017) or Moonlight(2016) but for its intended demographic it is smarter than you’d expect. It’s a coup to land Wash Westmoreland as director, who is gay himself and distinguished himself with Still Alice (2014), which he directed with his late husband Richard Glatzer, and Colette (2018), which the key characters here watch for a feel-good distraction (!). But most importantly, Heartstopper Forever is a closing chapter that leaves the world a better place than when it started. So it suddenly feels OK to be yourself.
Cast: Kit Connor, Joe Locke, William Gao, Yasmin Finney, Corinna Brown, Kizzy Edgell, Tobie Donovan, Jenny Walser, Rhea Norwood, Leila Khan, Anna Maxwell Martin, Eddie Marsan, Derek Jacobi, Fisayo Akinade, Nima Taleghani, Caleb Evers, Jack Barton, Darragh Hand, Richard Clifford, Rebecca Root.
Dir Wash Westmoreland, Pro Brett Thomas, Ex Pro Patrick Walters, Alice Oseman, Euros Lyn, Kit Connor and Joe Locke, Screenplay Alice Oseman, based on her series of graphic novels, Ph James Rhodes, Pro Des Carys Beard, Ed Todd Downing, Music Adiescar Chase, Costumes Adam Dee, Sound Joe De-Vine.
See-Saw Films-Netflix.
114 mins. UK. 2026. UK and US Rel: 17 July 2026. Cert. 15.
