The Last Five Years

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 Last 5 Years is a gut punch right from the start that doesn't let up until the very end. In fact, I might say this is one of the saddest movies/ musicals I have ever watched. The film follows the last five years of Cathy(Anna Kendrick) and Jamie's relationship from two different perspectives. Cathy's story is told from the ending to the beginning, while Jamies is told in chronological order from beginning to end. Cathy is a struggling actor, and Jamie is a successful writer (notice the gender imbalance? This movie is full of it). You can't spoil this movie because you are told right off the bat that Jamie left Cathy, and it's painfully clear that he cheated on her, which is one of the downsides of the film. It's hard to get emotionally involved in the film when you know the ending and that it is sad. Also, the tagline is that there are two sides to every breakup-what a joke. Jamie is literally the worst person ever. If I had to vote for the worst character of all, I would vote for Jamie without a second's hesitation. I would take being with any villain over this selfish, whiny, cheating man child, and there is no excuse for what his character does to Cathy! None! I hated him so much that the first time I gave this film a five for Anna Kendrick's performance, which is amazing and heartbreaking. Five because 50 % of the movie is Anna which is amazing, and 50% is Jamie which is awful. However, after rewatching it a few times, I think I was too hard on it. Anna Kendrick's performance is simply fantastic. The way she is able to convey emotion while singing the entire time is beyond amazing. Especially Anna's first two musical numbers are nothing short of perfection. However, I do think it might have been better if they switched the story up a little and Had us start with Cathy's story at the beginning and Jamie's at the end. For one, it would make the story more interesting because we know Jamie is fine with moving on, and it would make us wonder about Cathy's reaction. Secondly, I think I'm still hurting is the best song in the film, so it's a little disappointing when it is right at the start as the other songs aren't as good. Also, Anna looks absolutely stunning in the film. I love seeing her as blonde and seeing how her hair changes over the course of the narrative. And her outfits are amazing. She is nothing short of stunning, and she takes your breath away every scene. Yet, she is still sweet and kind even though her character is with the worst person who ever lived. All in all, It is definitely worth watching once. After that, you can just watch the Cathey parts. Just know it isn't a comedy going in. I've watched it several times, and I have to say I'm Still Hurting!

Greetings again from the darkness. Adapting a hit stage production to the big screen is always a bit challenging. When it's a full blown musical, the challenge grows exponentially. Throw in a highly unusual story-telling structure and limit 99% of the screen time to two characters and, well, a filmmaker is either off-the-charts ambitious or one who truly enjoys suffering for art.

Director Richard LaGravenese (P.S. I Love You) brings the hit off-Broadway musical by Jason Robert Brown to the screen, and features Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan as Cathy and Jamie, respectively. Ms. Kendrick has become the go-to actress for musicals with Into the Woods (as Cinderella) and the Pitch Perfect movies. She is a wonderful singer and a fine actress. Mr. Jordan is best known for TV's "Smash" and for "Newsies" on Broadway. He too is a talented singer.

Surprisingly, it's not the talented leads that provide the most interest here … it's the story structure. As per the title, the story follows the couple's relationship over a five year period. The opening scene features Cathy reading and reacting to the break-up note left by Jamie. The second scene features Jamie describing his joy when he first falls for Cathy, as they romp in bed. See, Cathy's story goes from the end to the beginning, while Jamie's story goes from the beginning to the end … intersecting only at the marriage proposal in the park. It's a fascinating way to tell a story – not just two perspectives, but also in reverse order of each other!

The song lyrics act as the dialogue, and that's where the transition from stage to screen falls a bit short. While the lyrics are clever and adequately describe each relationship change, those same lyrics and the non-stop singing, prevent the viewers from ever connecting to the characters … and more importantly, prevent us from understanding how these two characters ever connected to each other. Rather than a love story, it comes across as a moment of passion that turns into a relationship between two people who don't have much in common and don't particularly care for each other. And the real crux of the tension stems from Jamie's skyrocketing novel writing career versus Cathy's going-nowhere-but-Ohio acting career.

Cathy starts sad and ends happy, while Jamie starts happy (he found a Shiksa princess!) and finds a way to end his misery (writing a Dear Jane note). It's Sunset to Sunrise, and Sunrise to Sunset. The "goodbye" finale is very creative and well done. This unusual story structure is quite interesting, and the lyrics are sharp … it's the lack of spirit in the music, and the 90 minutes of the same two voices that prevent this from being something special.

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.

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!