Director: Drake Doremus
Writers: Drake Doremus
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones
Release Date: October 28, 2011
Length: 1 hour 30 minutes
Being the winner of 2011’s prestigious grand jury prize at the Sundance film festival, there was much anticipation for unknown director Drake Doremus’ indie romance, as it was going into the Toronto International Film Festival in September and into theatres just a few weeks later. People were more than intrigued by Like Crazy, a film that did so well at Sundance, had such an interesting premise and had a fresh beautiful actress to boot.
Like Crazy is this year’s Blue Valentine, the new bittersweet melancholy romance about two whimsical kids who face circumstances that threaten their blissful romance. Jacob and Anna are two university students in Los Angeles who before you can catch it, quickly fall in love with each other during their senior year. With Anna being from England, they know they will eventually have to deal with her going back and the two of them being separated when they graduate. However when June approaches, the smitten couple spontaneously decides that Anna will stay living with Jacob in California until she has to return for a relative’s wedding in the UK.
After a lovely relaxing summer, Anna goes back to England for the wedding, planning on returning straight to Jacob, when it is finished. When she lands in L.A. after her trip though, she is held at customs for abusing her student visa and is eventually told she is being sent back to the UK and will not be allowed to return back to the U.S.
The film takes us through the next four or five years of both their lives as they continue to try to make the relationship work because they seriously cannot think of being with anyone else but each other. Inspired by Doremus’ experiences with his ex-wife and her U.S. immigration issues, he adds a very realistic element to the script, especially with the relationship between Anna and Jacob. He also shoots Like Crazy with exceptionally beautiful camerawork and cinematography, highlighting his very independent style of filmmaking.
However, his authenticity does not shine through every scene due to some moments of indie directing that just comes off as contrived. For instance, after Anna and Jacob’s first date, they place their hands at the same place on opposite sides of a window for what seems like an hour and when they are not getting along they sit across from each other on the bus with their arms crossed.
Those are only little annoyances that add to the general irritation of little character development before the two characters get together. Like another longing romance this summer One Day, you are forced to just go with these characters right from the start without any depth or insight into who your protagonists are. Aside from their first date, all of their happy romance is captured in a three minute montage and Anna is deported only twenty or twenty five minutes into the film. If it was any other couple, you would understand their breakup, but Anna and Jacob fight so hard to keep their relationship going, because of their undeniable affection for each other. Yet, we do not understand their love quite as clear as they do and are, therefore, always a little detached from the motivation of their strenuous mission to bring Anna back to Los Angeles.
After the rocky beginning of the film though, the plot picks up and you are soon entangled into the saddening love story. The latter half of Like Crazy is what makes it so strongly affective, showing you how realistically tired the characters become after years of trying everything to make it work and when it finally does, they realize their exhaustion has debauched their love.
Two incredibly talented young actors carry the film, Anton Yelchin, who we have seen in films like Star Trek and Charlie Bartlett and newcomer British actress Felicity Jones, who won best actress at Sundance for her performance in this movie. Their powerful performances overcome the lack of character development and make us unquestioningly believe their undeniable love for each other and drive to just stick together. Jennifer Lawrence is also fantastic in her small role as Jacob’s girlfriend in Los Angeles, who knows he is still in love with Anna and that their relationship is headed nowhere. There has never been so much more young dramatic talent in a movie than in Like Crazy and it is because of them, you are swept away with the story for the last hour.
Similar to Blue Valentine, when Like Crazy is over, you leave the theatre feeling as emotionally drained as the characters, but emotionally moved at least. You cannot help but act like a therapist, talking about why the relationship did not work, and how they had grown up and wasted so much of their lives on their blinding love.
If you can get over the slightly bumpy beginning, and allow yourself to buy into this young love by the cast and Doremus’ skillfull filming, you will easily dive into the intensity of Like Crazy, though keep in mind, the result is far from rewarding.
Writers: Drake Doremus
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones
Release Date: October 28, 2011
Length: 1 hour 30 minutes
Being the winner of 2011’s prestigious grand jury prize at the Sundance film festival, there was much anticipation for unknown director Drake Doremus’ indie romance, as it was going into the Toronto International Film Festival in September and into theatres just a few weeks later. People were more than intrigued by Like Crazy, a film that did so well at Sundance, had such an interesting premise and had a fresh beautiful actress to boot.
Like Crazy is this year’s Blue Valentine, the new bittersweet melancholy romance about two whimsical kids who face circumstances that threaten their blissful romance. Jacob and Anna are two university students in Los Angeles who before you can catch it, quickly fall in love with each other during their senior year. With Anna being from England, they know they will eventually have to deal with her going back and the two of them being separated when they graduate. However when June approaches, the smitten couple spontaneously decides that Anna will stay living with Jacob in California until she has to return for a relative’s wedding in the UK.
After a lovely relaxing summer, Anna goes back to England for the wedding, planning on returning straight to Jacob, when it is finished. When she lands in L.A. after her trip though, she is held at customs for abusing her student visa and is eventually told she is being sent back to the UK and will not be allowed to return back to the U.S.
The film takes us through the next four or five years of both their lives as they continue to try to make the relationship work because they seriously cannot think of being with anyone else but each other. Inspired by Doremus’ experiences with his ex-wife and her U.S. immigration issues, he adds a very realistic element to the script, especially with the relationship between Anna and Jacob. He also shoots Like Crazy with exceptionally beautiful camerawork and cinematography, highlighting his very independent style of filmmaking.
However, his authenticity does not shine through every scene due to some moments of indie directing that just comes off as contrived. For instance, after Anna and Jacob’s first date, they place their hands at the same place on opposite sides of a window for what seems like an hour and when they are not getting along they sit across from each other on the bus with their arms crossed.
Those are only little annoyances that add to the general irritation of little character development before the two characters get together. Like another longing romance this summer One Day, you are forced to just go with these characters right from the start without any depth or insight into who your protagonists are. Aside from their first date, all of their happy romance is captured in a three minute montage and Anna is deported only twenty or twenty five minutes into the film. If it was any other couple, you would understand their breakup, but Anna and Jacob fight so hard to keep their relationship going, because of their undeniable affection for each other. Yet, we do not understand their love quite as clear as they do and are, therefore, always a little detached from the motivation of their strenuous mission to bring Anna back to Los Angeles.
After the rocky beginning of the film though, the plot picks up and you are soon entangled into the saddening love story. The latter half of Like Crazy is what makes it so strongly affective, showing you how realistically tired the characters become after years of trying everything to make it work and when it finally does, they realize their exhaustion has debauched their love.
Two incredibly talented young actors carry the film, Anton Yelchin, who we have seen in films like Star Trek and Charlie Bartlett and newcomer British actress Felicity Jones, who won best actress at Sundance for her performance in this movie. Their powerful performances overcome the lack of character development and make us unquestioningly believe their undeniable love for each other and drive to just stick together. Jennifer Lawrence is also fantastic in her small role as Jacob’s girlfriend in Los Angeles, who knows he is still in love with Anna and that their relationship is headed nowhere. There has never been so much more young dramatic talent in a movie than in Like Crazy and it is because of them, you are swept away with the story for the last hour.
Similar to Blue Valentine, when Like Crazy is over, you leave the theatre feeling as emotionally drained as the characters, but emotionally moved at least. You cannot help but act like a therapist, talking about why the relationship did not work, and how they had grown up and wasted so much of their lives on their blinding love.
If you can get over the slightly bumpy beginning, and allow yourself to buy into this young love by the cast and Doremus’ skillfull filming, you will easily dive into the intensity of Like Crazy, though keep in mind, the result is far from rewarding.
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