Director: Richard LaGravenese Starring: Anna Kendrick, Jeremy Jordan Writer: Richard LaGravenese | 3/5 The Last Five Years I have not seen the popular Jason Robert Brown play which this film is based on, so anything I say is an opinion of someone who has watched The Last Five Years as a movie and a movie alone. In many ways, the screen adaptation is an entertaining success. In other ways, it’s thin and gimmicky. Throughout the film, we see a marriage and we see it torn apart. Cathy (Anna Kendrick) is a struggling actress and Jamie (Jeremy Jordan) is a burgeoning author on the cusp of success. They meet, fall in love, get married, and are then ripped apart by fame. It is a sad story for sad-stories sake. Without any driving theme or message, I could not see the point. The point, of course, is in Brown’s magnificent soundtrack. Here is another musical with basically no spoken dialogue. Anyone who has a problem with constant singing may want to look the other way, but anyone who can tolerate that sort of thing surely should. The scourge of these type of films is that every song ends up sounding the same; not here. Each song has its own feel, sound, and theme, unlike the film as a whole. Speaking of the film as a whole and the gimmick I mentioned earlier, others may not find it as distracting as I did. The story is told through the eyes of both Cathy and Jamie. Jamie’s version is told from beginning to end and we hear Cathy’s from end to beginning. It’s an interesting idea that may have worked better on a live stage; but for the film, it often felt like a one-trick pony. Not only was I struggling to find overall meaning, but I found myself disoriented and confused with the storytelling after the two characters met in the middle. Maybe that is just me, but I think it is safe to say the second half is not quite as coherent as the first. |
Same goes for Jordan, a stage vet best known for his role in Newsies. He knows best how to cut through the arrangements and drama to find the hidden pain and joy that drives each of these songs. Even when the character of Jamie descends into delusional, despicable, and selfish behavior, I still do not think LaGravenese could have found a better actor.
Wipe away the storytelling tricks from The Last Five Years and you have a story that has been told countless times, both in art and reality. I was most reminded of Bob Dylan and his early muse Suze Rotolo. You may think of someone else; you will have to see the film to find out. Any fans of Anna Kendrick, singing, or a combination of the two will find many joys in The Last Five Years.
(Available on iTunes)