The Last Five Years

This movie worried me. Being a fan of the original work, I was truly worried. Given the intricate and complicated mode or storytelling, as well as the music, which is advanced music, far above the simple rock chords of RENT or PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, I worried that either it wouldn't transfer well or that the charm and emotional pull of the piece would be lost. Let me set those worries right to rest - this musical is everything the original work was and more, but more importantly, this musical is fresh. What do I mean by fresh? Well, the original work was performed in 2002. Some of the lyrics reflect that (eg, references to Borders bookstores). But the musical has been revitalized for a more modern audience. Skype is used, Russell Crowe's less-than-wonderful musical turn is referenced. The orchestration is updated, but not mangled, to fit a more mainstream audience.

Now, onto the actual movie.

First, the stars. This may be one of the best musical movies ever made, simply because of the casting. For those that don't know, the story focuses on only two characters - Cathy and Jamie. No one else sings, and virtually no one else has any sort of character. Most oftentimes, the film industry casts star pull over talent, as evidenced by Russell Crowe as Javert, Gerard Butler as the Phantom of the Opera, and Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd. But this is not the case here. While Anna Kendrick has some star pull with her recent success, she is clearly more talent that star power. She truly shines as Cathy, a slightly bookish, slightly wimpy musical theater star-in-the-making. Her vocal power is just what this role has been yearning for. On the other end of the spectrum, you have Jeremy Jordan, whom only musical theater fans will know. His success on the cult favorite hit, SMASH, notwithstanding, Jordan is here purely for talent. And what a talent he is! Surpassing everyone who has played the role thus far, Jordan winks and smiles his way through as the impish egotistical, yet loving Jamie. The stars are perfect for the roles they're in - nuff said.

Now, the direction. Richard LaGravanese works wonders with the movie. The way he chose to present each scene and how they all tie together in the end is a work of art and a joy to behold as a musical theater nerd myself.

Third, the cinematography. This is the ONLY (read: only) slight qualm I have with the film. The shooting style, at times, feel cagey, and sometimes too intimate. This is a very intimate story, but sometimes, the camera work feels like it was not used to its full effect. Then, however, there are times when the movie works beautifully on a cinematographic level. The sequence, "A Summer In Ohio" is one of the best-choreographed and best-shot musical numbers ever. "The Next Ten Minutes", however, is one of the worst. You're getting both ends of the spectrum here.

There's not much else to talk about. There was no big special effects budget. There is no supporting cast to speak of. The music is immune to criticism. If you love musical theater, The Last Five years stage play, love stories, or just interesting movies, this is the movie for you!

Struggling dancer Cathy (Anna Kendrick) sees her whirlwind marriage start fall apart as her new husband's writing career takes off ahead of hers.

The pair tell their story through song, Cathy's beginning at the end and working backwards towards happier times early in their relationship, whereas the more level/pig-headed Jeremy does just the opposite, running away from what brought them together to start with and focusing on current problems.

It is more gritty and real than most fluffy rom-coms but viewers not au fait with musical theatre will feel that depth is lost in the all-singing narrative style. If you were left bereft by the silence of The Artist and couldn't stand the spontaneous outbursts of Moulin Rouge, then steer well clear of this.

Straight-up rom-com fans won't necessarily appreciate The Last Five Years either, it's pitched equally at Broadway lovers (it's based on a Broadway musical) and/or low-budget indie flick fans and even then, the two styles may not sit well together for you.

Neither of our leads have pleasantly bland pop voices either, both are classically trained vocal powerhouses-again, not everyone's cup of tea. The Last Five Years earns three stars, however, as it does what it wanted to do fairly well, it's all a question of personal taste.

I really liked the way the story lines were a reverse parallel, with one character starting at the end and working backwards, and the other starting at the beginning and going forwards until they converged.

I liked the way the plot didn't go with the usual romantic clichés, but added some complexity to what could have been just another boy meets girl story.

The music wasn't overly memorable, but there was a clever catchy quality to the lyrics much of the time, and the tunes were sufficiently serviceable to not detract.

BUT...why oh why do directors use such fakey lip synching? I really think it would be far better to use live singing, even with an occasional flaw (as, for example, was done with Les Miserables, which took real guts given the scope of that film!) I understand that the actors did at least do their own singing, but still, the lip sync makes the inherently unlikely format of a musical frequently seem silly--and I am actually a big fan of the old, classic musicals like The Sound of Music, etc.

Also, it was so obvious that they were not actually singing at those moments, because you HAVE GOT TO OPEN YOUR MOUTH to make those sounds! Finally, and this may just be a personal (lack of) preference, but I found Anna Kendrick's voice to often have an unpleasant, fingernails-on-chalkboard edge to it.

Theater kids and Broadway buffs are going to toss their cookies over the movie adaptation of The Last Five Years.

The Last Five Years is the film adaptation of Jason Robert Brown's synonymously titled Chicago premiered and often revived off-Broadway musical.

I never saw the musical, so the movie adaptation The Last Five Years is my first encounter with the material. Cathy is a struggling actress and Jamie is an up-and-coming novelist. They fall in love but happily ever after is not meant to be. The musical looks at the love affair and marriage of Jamie and Cathy over the last five years. Cathy's songs begin at the end and dissolution of their marriage while Jamie's all start at the beginning of their whirlwind romance. The songs and differences in time are told as a narrative by alternating between the two until they meet in the middle. And just an FYI for those that are on the fence in their love of musicals – The Last Five Years is a story that is told almost entirely through song, so you might want to skip this one if you are swaying toward 'nay' in your appreciation.

It seems as though The Last Five Years respects the musical's material to the letter and takes no liberties through the art of adaptation, though I can't say for sure without seeing the actual stage production. Twenty minutes into the film and there have already been four songs and a constant stream of music in the background. As a story of a relationship that ultimately ends in failure, the weight is not evenly distributed between Jamie and Cathy, with Jamie having more priority – perhaps a reflection of the musical's creator Jason Robert Brown's own self-important egocentrism. The Last Five Years wa wants to be this intimate examination of a tempestuous relationship. The film version, however, only manages to superficially gloss over at best without thorough knowledge of the origin source, never pausing long enough to succeed.

As a musical, The Last Five Years is exactly what you would want – well written lyricisms and songs that have emotion and purpose in progressing the story. As a film though, the constant use of songs as snap shot vignettes of the relationships prevents the audience from connecting with the couple's relationship. Had a song or two been removed and a bit more dialogue was substituted then the adaptation would be more successful as a movie. It is right around "The Schmuel Song" at minute thirty-five that this need for editing is apparent.

The Last Five Years is bound to be a hit with the theater crowd and will forever live on their singing little hearts. However, The Last Five Years fails to have a broader reach to intrigue a greater audience.

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This film tells the story of an actress and her novelist husband, chronicling their encounter, marriage and divorce.

I didn't know "The Last Five Years" is a musical, so I was quite baffled by the initial scene of Anna Kendrick singing for a full five minutes. Then, I get to enjoy many beautiful songs and lovely scenery. Colours are lush, even the trees look very saturated with striking green. It's a beautiful film to watch, but I think there's little emphasis on the plot. There's very little build up of the plot, and the story does not flow to the following segment because every song is just so long. There's just not enough time to fit five years into ninety minutes, especially when every song is at least five minutes long.

On the whole, "The Last Five Years" is a nice film, but I will forget about it on a few months.