The Last Five Years *** (2014, Anna Kendrick, Jeremy Jordan) – Movie Review

Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan star as a struggling actress and her novelist lover Jamie, who look back on the deconstruction of their five -year love affair in writer-director Richard LaGravenese‘s musical. It is based on the musical play by Jason Robert Brown, who must get the main credit for this, using his relationship with his first wife as a loose starting point.

Kendrick has a sharp and strident voice as well as a strident personality here, neither of which may not be to everyone’s taste. The movie is a musical, and everything’s sung, which also may not be to everyone’s taste. It’s also very American, very off-Broadway, where the show was revived in 2013.

But, still, there will be those who like this movie, maybe a lot. It’s certainly easy to admire its wit and cleverness. Harder, maybe, to like it, with its inevitable unhappy ending – the couple are looking back on the deconstruction of their five -year love affair as happiness gives way to disillusion and regret.

[Spoiler alert] It’s easier to like Jeremy Jordan. He’s just a handsome hunk withy a sweet voice, though, of course he’s going to cheat on the heroine, which is all a bit sad and depressing, because at the start, you, like the characters, feel they are made for each other. Incidentally, the actress who plays the publishers’ receptionist/ secretary who Jamie sleeps with towards the end of the film is Jeremy Jordan’s real life wife, Ashley Spencer.

Nevertheless, like Kendrick’s character and performance here, the film grows on you, and stays with you a bit. You might even want to see it again in a while, not immediately admittedly, but in a while, just to check out the songs, the singing and the show’s cleverness. Kendrick and Jordan certainly act and sing it note perfectly.

The film was shot in 21 days  entirely in New York, Brooklyn and Staten Island. The last day of shooting was the last song, ‘Goodbye Until Tomorrow’. Kendrick and Jordan sang 11 of the 14 songs live, in multiple takes, due to camera set ups. ‘If I Didn’t Believe in You’ is shot in one camera move. Jordan had to sing it 14 times. Kendrick sang ‘Still Hurting’ 17 times over five camera set-ups.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Movie Review

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