Directed by: Wash Westmoreland
Written by: Alice Oseman
Run Time: 1 hour 52 minutes
It’s always special when a film or show centred around LGBTQ+ people becomes a phenomenon. When the first season of Heartstopper landed on Netflix in 2022, it achieved much acclaim within a short time, particularly for aiming its exploration of adolescent queer love and friendship at a younger audience. With its comic book aesthetic (taken from Alice Oseman’s graphic novels) and indie-pop soundtrack, its standing as a queer favourite was only solidified further with its successful second and third seasons. In April 2025, it was announced the show would conclude with a feature film, but with the popularity of previous seasons, could Heartstopper Forever manage to pull off a satisfying finale?
The film picks up where season three left off, with boyfriends Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke) still very much in love, but also trying to navigate their way through sixth form. With Charlie becoming Head Boy of Truham Grammar School and Nick preparing for his first year at Leeds University, their relationship starts to encounter some challenges. Faced with the looming threat of long distance, Charlie’s previous mental health struggles and Nick’s attempts to find his own identity aside from his boyfriend, Heartstopper Forever ponders if the couple can defy the common belief that teenage relationships don’t last.
After the third season’s more mature, yet still sensitive, focus on Charlie’s mental illness and eating disorder, Heartstopper Forever naturally progresses to a more honest look at the transition from adolescence to adulthood. As Nick and Charlie, Kit Connor and Joe Locke handle this change with ease, proving as wonderful together as ever. They maintain their excellent chemistry and emotional vulnerability, both as a couple and as individuals.
A joyful opening montage celebrating Charlie’s appointment as Head Boy is quickly followed by rising relationship tensions as Nick realises that there’s not a lot about himself that can be detached from his partner. While some aspects of his journey are rushed through, the film doesn’t shy away from his emotional withdrawal and subsequent recklessness. A sequence in which Nick gets embarrassingly drunk during one of Charlie’s gigs demonstrates this particularly well, made all the more uncomfortable by its rapid editing and the nuanced reactions of their surrounding ensemble of friends.
Said ensemble, who audiences have got to know throughout the seasons, remain as loveable as always. Tao (William Gao) and Elle (Yasmin Finney) are especially hit by the switch from sixth form to adult life as Elle expresses the desire to study abroad in Berlin. It’s a great way to present the characters with the dilemma of whether to prioritise yourself and your dreams or your relationship and partner. Elsewhere, Charlie’s sister Tori (Jenny Walser), wonderfully deadpan as ever, explores her relationship with the eccentric Michael (Darragh Hand) in one of the film’s more light-hearted subplots.
Sadly, some other characters are rather neglected. Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) appear regularly in the film whenever the gang are together, but Heartstopper Forever doesn’t spend any time with them as just a couple. With how prominent they’ve been throughout the show, and considering their fan-favourite status, it’s a real shame they aren’t afforded more progression. Admittedly, it’s an almost impossible task to give every character their moment in less than two hours, compared to the usual eight thirty-minute episodes, but with so many plot points to get through, there’s very little downtime.
Thankfully, what is present throughout is what Heartstopper as a show is best known for: a celebration of youthful queer identity and experiences, both the joys and the hardships. While the show’s third season became a little heavy-handed in teaching moments and morals, Heartstopper Forever mostly keeps things subtle, but equally, isn’t afraid to be loud and proud when it calls for it too. Moments of both kinds are similarly powerful, whether it’s a cameo from BAFTA-winner Derek Jacobi as one half of an elderly gay couple, or a sequence of Elle leading a Pride march alongside chants of “Trans rights”. In these terrifying times where the rights of LGBTQ+ people continue to erode, it’s an important reminder that whatever happens in the future, queer people will always be here.
By the time Heartstopper Forever reaches its epilogue, and after spending five years with these special characters, it’s very hard not to feel emotional as they say goodbye, both to their adolescence and to the audience. If there’s one thing the film and queer life have in common, it’s that even if the journey is a little messy, and there are moments when it can feel overwhelming or bleak, the joy it brings is unlike anything else.
Star Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
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