Heartstopper Forever (UK)

Having loved all three seasons of Heartstopper on Netflix, I felt a massive sense of anticipation for this one, though I was also slightly anxious about how the creators would manage to pack everything into a mere two hours. While the series has primarily focused on Nick and Charlie navigating the timing of saying I love you or deciding whether to have sex, this movie shifts the focus toward a different question: can teen relationships truly endure into adulthood? This inquiry carries even more weight given that Nick’s last year of school is underway and university is approaching rapidly. I will outline the plot first before providing my take.

With Nick in his final year of high school, much has shifted. He has decided on Leeds for university, which is roughly a three or four hour journey away. Meanwhile, Charlie has outgrown his shy persona; he is now running for Head Boy and attempting to establish a club for queer students. Although he is still managing his eating disorder and urges to self harm, his decision to attend therapy and be honest about his emotions has fostered significant growth. While Nick is happy for him, this development leaves him feeling less central to Charlie’s life than he used to be. Nick is also having a hard time writing his college essay, and Charlie refuses any help when Nick offers. Ultimately, Nick just cannot open up about his true feelings. As college approaches and Charlie becomes preoccupied with new responsibilities, Nick feels his established life slipping away. This leads to petty fights where they even question if they can actually make it work. They eventually take a mini break and both end up miserable, yet neither is willing to be the first to apologize and communicate. We see very little of the rest of the friend group, aside from Elle and Tao navigating a breakup and trying to get back on the same page. Despite the constant arguing, the years of friendship and love keep drawing Nick and Charlie back to one another. The usual side characters appear as well, including Nick’s sister, Charlie’s mom, the gay teacher couple, and the rest of the friends. And yeah, it ends happy, just like you’d expect.

This film serves as a proper goodbye to one of the sweetest gay love stories ever put on screen. While I have always rated the show really high, the movie feels like it is missing something. I understand that the story has evolved from a cute teen romance into a tale about growing up and whether first love can survive that process, but the issue is that the movie never allows Nick or Charlie to actually mess up. Even during their temporary breakup, neither of them even looks at another guy, which doesn’t feel real for teens today. There was still plenty I liked, though. It is surprising that Charlie is actually the more mature one this time, especially with the nice twist where Nick is the one who keeps everything bottled up and cannot handle change, which only pushes Charlie further away. Their growing comfort with being intimate also felt natural. However, the movie tries to touch on toxic masculinity, rising transphobia, chosen family, and messing around with your sexuality, but that is just too much stuff for such a short runtime. Even the old side characters show up, but they barely get any screen time, perhaps only a scene each. Because of this, a lot of it feels rushed, but since I love Nick and Charlie so much, I still enjoyed the movie despite all that.

There is a sense of maturity in this movie, focusing on themes of moving forward, growing pains, and the ache of missing what once was. While Heartstopper has always functioned as an unapologetic celebration of queer joy—depicting how things could be rather than how they actually are—this might be the conclusion, I was genuinely glad for the extra time spent with Nick, Charlie, and the gang. I found myself really missing that small “Hi!” from season one. (7.5/10)