Heartstopper Forever sends Nick and Charlie into grown-up territory
Variety says Netflix’s finale film gives Charlie and Nick a more somber send-off as school, recovery and the future press in.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
Netflix’s Heartstopper Forever brings Charlie and Nick’s screen romance to its final chapter, and Variety critic Aramide Tinubu says the goodbye is gentler, heavier and more grown-up than the series that made fans swoon.
The film, now streaming on Netflix, closes out the adaptation of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper books and comics. According to Variety, Oseman uses the finale to push the characters past the rush of first love and into the trickier business of staying connected while life starts changing fast.
The story begins in autumn during Nick’s final year of high school. Kit Connor returns as Nick, while Joe Locke is back as Charlie, who is no longer tucked away on the sidelines. Variety reports that Charlie is running for Head Boy and trying to create a club for queer students.
Charlie is also still dealing with his eating disorder and urges toward self-harm, Variety says. The review notes that his openness about his feelings, along with his work with therapist Geoff, played by Eddie Marsan, has helped him grow in ways Nick is happy to see, even if Nick starts to feel less central in Charlie’s world.
That shift becomes one of the movie’s core tensions. Variety describes Nick as struggling to respond to the more confident version of Charlie, while Charlie tries to get Nick to speak honestly about what he is feeling. With college looming, Nick is rattled by the sense that the life he has settled into is beginning to move beyond his control.
The finale also checks in on the wider friend group. Variety says Elle, played by Yasmin Finney, and Tao, played by William Gao, are having trouble matching their plans for what comes next, putting strain on their relationship. The review says their long-running affection and friendship still hold them close, even as their romance hits turbulence.
Other familiar faces appear as well. Variety names Charlie’s sister Tori, played by Jenny Walser, Charlie’s mother Sarah, played by Anna Maxwell Martin, and Mr. Ajayi, played by Fisayo Akinade, among the characters Oseman spotlights. Maxwell Martin takes over the role of Sarah from Olivia Colman, according to the review.
Variety says the movie keeps some of the show’s signature visual touches, including bright doodle-like animations and flashbacks to important moments in Nick and Charlie’s relationship. The critic also notes a clear tonal change: the finale is described as more subdued than viewers may expect.
Unlike earlier chapters, Variety says Heartstopper Forever is less concerned with the thrill of falling in love or figuring out sex and intimacy for the first time. The focus, the review says, is on what it takes to keep a bond alive as people grow into new versions of themselves.
Production details listed by Variety include See-Saw Films as the production company, with executive producers Patrick Walters, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Alice Oseman, Euros Lyn, Joe Locke and Kit Connor. The cast list also includes Tobey Donovan and Corinna Brown.
Variety’s verdict is warm but clear-eyed: Heartstopper Forever does not lean on the same breezy charm as the series, but Tinubu calls it a fitting ending for Nick and Charlie, one that gives fans a final look at their love story as childhood begins to fall away.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.