Like Crazy

Plot synopsis:
Anna Gardner (Felicity Jones), a British exchange student attending college in Los Angeles, meets and falls in love with Jacob Helm (Anton Yelchin), an American student who returns her affections. After graduation, Anna decides to spend the summer with Jacob rather than return to the United Kingdom, unaware of the consequences of staying longer than her student visa, which expired upon her graduation, allows. After returning to London for a family engagement, Anna flies back to Los Angeles, where she is detained, denied entry, and sent back to the United Kingdom by immigration officials.
The couple's love for each other grows strained by their separation and long-distance relationship. Despite her efforts at appealing the immigration decision, Anna is told she is banned from entering the United States. Meanwhile, Jacob leaves behind his successful design business and visits Anna in London for a few weeks. There, he learns that Anna's parents, Bernard (Oliver Muirhead) and Jackie (Alex Kingston), have hired an immigration lawyer to try to get the ban lifted. Bernard suggests that marrying may help their efforts. Jacob is uncomfortable with the suggestion, and the couple struggle with their feelings.
After Jacob returns to the United States, he and Anna grow apart, and Jacob begins a relationship with his colleague, Samantha (Jennifer Lawrence). Anna also tries to find a new life for herself, beginning work as a secretary for a magazine, but she is unable to abandon her feelings for Jacob. She eventually phones him from London and says that they will never find in others what they found in each other, and that they should marry. Soon after, Jacob breaks up with Samantha, returns to London and marries Anna in a small registry office ceremony with her parents as witnesses—both affirming that they will "never allow anything to destroy the feelings we share for each other". With a tearful parting, Jacob returns to his business in Los Angeles while the couple wait six months before they appeal the ban on Anna's visa.
Six months later, Jacob flies back to the United Kingdom for the appeal, but it is rejected. With their relationship compromised and no hope of resolving the visa issue, Anna and Jacob begin to fight with each other out of jealousy and frustration. Jacob goes back to the US, and Samantha. Anna eventually gets promoted at work to the position of editor—something she wanted very much. Her love life, however, is not as positive or fulfilling—her new boyfriend Simon (Charlie Bewley) does not evoke the same feelings in her as Jacob, whom she still misses.
Sometime later, Anna is finally offered a new visa. She gives up her job, her current boyfriend and her apartment, and flies to Los Angeles to Jacob, who greets her with flowers at the airport where they have an awkward reunion. Jacob brings Anna to his house where he joins her in the shower, and as the water falls over them, they remember happier memories they had together at the beginning of their relationship, which has now become strained due to their indiscretions during the time spent apart.

Tags: boring

Review:
Just saw it at the Sundance Film Festival here in Park City, Utah.'Like Crazy' is a love story about the ups and the downs, the euphoria, the heartache, and the sacrifices.
Like Crazy is a nostalgic love story of people who know what they want but don't know how to get it.The acting is superb.
Jennifer Lawrence and Charlie Bewley also deliver great performances.The thing that sets Like Crazy apart is the fact that it doesn't try to be anything than an honest love story.
Take friends who want to share the fun of a good film.Like Crazy is a fantastic watch and a fresh take on everything you thought you knew about indie romance..
In a movie about the complications that ensue when an American guy named Jacob and a British girl named Anna meet in college, fall in love and then eventually are separated when the latter is denied entry back into the US after overstaying her visa, it's never as compelling as it very well should have been."Like Crazy", a big hit at the Sundance film festival, is well-made and has some scenes of heartbreaking immediacy that give it considerable promise.
And his understated mis-en-scene and on-the-cheap cinematography is quite impressive, bringing a very cinematic atmosphere to "Like Crazy" despite the film's modest means.For the central pairing, Jones (a distinctly lovely actress with a remarkably subtle face and physical acting style) in particular brings a fascinating duality to her character of Anna: she can feel both warm and reserved, naive but very intelligent and observant.
There's a bit of suspense later on, as both Jacob and Anna get romantically tempted by someone close to them (by Jennifer Lawerence and Charlie Bewley, respectively), but that plot devolpment ultimately feels as superficial and mechanical as the movie's main immigration predicament.
It's not that there isn't a sense of real care and affection between Jacob and Anna, but the movie just doesn't take enough time to let us figure out exactly what exists between the two.
It seems like while Anna may be in crazy stupid love, Jacob seems to see it as a passionate summer fling but nothing to change his life for.
The disintegration of their relationship feels more expected and, frankly, welcome than it is heartbreaking.Perhaps what's hindering the central romance is that the movie is far too hurried and uneven that it doesn't really have time to show a substantive, organic growth of Anna and Jacob's relationship.
Anna (Felicity Jones) and Jacob (Anton Yelchin) are in love with each like crazy.
(I LOVE Arthur Hiller's "Love Story" and can relate to much of it, although most relationships don't end so tragically.)I'm guessing that many of the people that didn't enjoy "Like Crazy" never experienced the beauty of young love, or the heartache it causes when you're forced into a long distance relationship.
Most movies make you care about the things that the on screen couple have to go through, but throughout the movie I could only think of how unbelievable this relationship is, and how stupid and unsympathetic the characters are.The basic premise of the movie is boy and girl meet in college, develop a relationship, become so in love with each other that they can't stand to spend a few months apart, girl overstays visa and is unable to come back, and the effect on their relationship that long distance has on them.The movie didn't really demonstrate why they were together at all.
I thought he'd get bored with the girl after about 100 kisses, but no, he actually wants to follow her to England for more.....I need to tell you that (1) I LIKE romance movies, and (2) I have had the experience of a relationship separated by thousands of miles; but I could NOT relate to this awful and shallow movie.
The soundtrack (except for the disco scene in London) was dismal; and just flat-out annoying.I like both these actors, but they never stood a chance with the wooden direction they must have had, because there was no (0) chemistry here.Every time they kissed or had any 'romantic' verbal intercourse I wanted to cringe: It felt as though I were watching two people awkwardly trying to kiss in the dark bedroom after a round of 'spin the bottle.' I suppose that as an 'artistic' effort, it has some merit; but as a love story ...not so much.Uncle Gruesome.
The director is trying to attain that edgy Mike Leigh, Ken Loach feel, but fails miserably and the result is like watching an edited collection of drama school workshops.Perhaps they should have spent some time coming up with an actual story line?
Although it remains semi-fresh, it doesn't hesitate to pack in at least some of those Hollywood instances here and there.The story follows Jacob (Yelchin) and Anna (Jones), two Los Angeles college students who meet in one of their classes and become a couple soon after.
This makes for a very sappy, awkward, and somewhat boring excursion through the repetition of "first love stories." You almost feel like the unwanted third wheel.In fact, some of the most interesting scenes are when Jacob and Anna focus on other relationships.
I actually really enjoyed the one Jacob established with Jennifer Lawrence's Sam. The only trouble is the film keeps pausing those to try and force both of the main characters together again.There are minor setbacks, but the film is motivated and kept on life support by wonderful lead actors.
The love story told in Like Crazy is almost like and anti romance at times but is also very relatable and convincing.The story is about a long distance relationship and the perils that this type of relationship can have, the two leads Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin just shine in their roles and they have such a great chemistry together that i was totally convinced that these two people really love each other and i was rooting for them through the entire film.
One thing i like about this film is that it doesn't just show the story of the two people involved in the relationship, it also showed the heartbreak that the other partners face, one particular scene with the freakishly talented Jennifer Lawrence had me holding back the tears.The ending is something I've read a lot of people either aren't happy with or left unmoved by but again i found that the way it ended was great, it was so original and it left the viewer wondering, in saying that though it is incredibly sad.
However, It was not.Felicity Jones' character Anna was not an interesting person.She looks like she just rolls out of bed and slap on eyeliner.She did her hair in a MESSY BUN for her wedding.Anton Yelchin's character Jacob, was a very nice person.
Moreover, there are various opinions about the significance of physical intimacy and "seeing others" during relationship.Like Crazy covers the said topics fully and nicely and thanks to brilliant actors (Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones, above all) it was pleasant and smooth to watch.
Jones was new to me, but she performed credibly as well.As for the main obstacle for love, it was somewhat awkward to realize that the U.S. has so many bureaucratic restrictions even for citizens of allied NATO countries; on the other hand, there are immigration lotteries and illegal immigrants legalization campaigns...But the movie is worth watching, and recommendable not to the young ones only.
Unfortunately, this motif isn't kept up and there are plenty of overly-artsy moments that are trying to make shortcuts for, and ultimately supersede, the story.The great thing about this style of movie is that it enhances the idea of character, because it forces the story to focus on the smaller, telling moments in a relationship.
Using this technique to focus on the absurdly decisive moments (as it does here) instead of these telling moments in this relationship counter-intuitively feels inauthentic because cheats the audience out of being able to see them for who they are instead of what they do.The two leads have very little chemistry, and although this may have been intentional, it also makes watching this movie a very frustrating experience.
Some of the things they do are outright baffling because we have not been allowed to see their third dimension, and as a result, we may not particularly care what happens to them.At some point, this movie may have been trying to tell us something about the nature of being in a relationship and why people feel connected to one another, instead of just laying out the foundations of a story about one such relationship.
Then I thought, "Well, if she chose to be in it, it must have SOMETHING going for it." (Honestly, I didn't even recognize Jennifer Lawrence, but then part of her charm is that she looks like a certain kind of all-American down-to-earth woman.) I could say I almost walked out because nothing was really happening besides some entirely predictable plot points and equally predictable developments in their relationship.
If you see a lot of indie films, you've seen this sort of thing numerous times before: long, slow loving takes; piano music filling in for emotion; quirky playful moments between the lovers.
Such is the case with Drake Doremus' Like Crazy, the story of a young couple having to engage in a long-distance relationship as a result of the violation of immigration requirements.
It is a sincere film from the director's own experience, but one that ultimately comes up empty.Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Drama at the Sundance Film Festival, Anna (Felicity Jones), a British exchange student at a Los Angeles college meets Jacob (Anton Yelchin), a Furniture Design major who is a Teaching Assistant in Anna's writing class.
We see the physical passion on the screen but it never feels authentic, more like movie-love, determined to call attention to itself with a series of time-lapse snapshots and other cinematic gimmicks.The main thrust of the story is the separation of Anna and Jacob brought about by the U.S. Immigration authorities.
Distracted by their work and their enforced separation, they never seem to recapture the energy of their first experience and are drawn into other relationships, Jacob with Sam (Jennifer Lawrence) and Anna with Simon (Charlie Bewley), but neither relationship is fully satisfying and there is little truth-telling.Despite a thin script, it is hard to deny the quality of the performances by Jones and Yelchin, and those of Anne's parents (Alex Kingston and Oliver Muirhead) who give the film a much needed lightness of tone.
The film opens with Jacob (Anton Yelchin) meeting Anna (Felicity Jones) in class of their L.A. area college.
After graduation, immigration issues for Anna result in the forced separation of the two love birds and proceed to show the couple fight to stay together over the next several years.Like Crazy is a new love story for the ages.
Just when you expect the story to follow the path we are used to seeing in the mass graveyard that is the Rom-Com, it swings away proving that life and especially love are unpredictable.Kudos to director Drake Doremus, and actors Yelchin, Jones and a small, yet stinging performance by Academy Award nominee Jennifer Lawrence.
The movie follows the hardships of their relationship when Anna experiences visa problems that could keep her home in the UK.I was intrigued by the mixed reviews this movie was receiving from IMDb "prolific authors" and after watching Like Crazy for myself, I understand better.Drake Doremus opts for a stripped down, naturalistic style for this love story that works quite well.
You never feel lost through it all but some viewers will probably regret the absence of longer, better structured and scenes that really hit you.This has been compared to 500 days of summer (probably for its bittersweet take on love) and Blue Valentine (probably for its documentary-style of movie-making) but I was personally reminded of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, as a film resting squarely on two actors and their chemistry.
It's hard not to like: the characters are sweet and believable; the actors seem to be relishing the improv nature of the film; the story feels true (which it is, apparently, kinda); the photography, direction and editing are all executed brilliantly; and, most importantly, it's engaging, fun and emotionally affecting.
You really buy into what they are doing, even if at first it seems a bit convenient.It's not all good of course, but what works apart from the drama (and an inciting incident, which I'm not entirely sure, if that would happen like that and would last that long, time-wise) is the ambiguity the movie transports.
But without feeling committed to these two from the beginning, the rest of the movie is just, well, kind of pointless.The film was shot showing snippets of characters' interactions with each other - Anna & Jacob with each other, each with their respective later loves - which was an interesting style and genuinely effective later on, but I think we needed to be hit over the head with Anna & Jacob at the beginning, instead of just a few cutesy scenes.
Sure enough, I was left reeling after my screening, choking back the desire to weep for Jacob (Anton Yelchin) and Anna (Felicity Jones), a couple so deeply and madly in love who are held back from being together because of immigration laws.
It is one of the most emotional experiences I have had at the movies in ages, and one that is not bound to leave me any time soon.Like Crazy is a bit unconventional when compared to other romantic dramas.
Instead of seeing the whole story of Jacob and Anna's romance from the beginning, co-writer/director Drake Doremus only gives us moments, glimpses and mere blips along the way.
These characters are very lived in, and feel incredibly natural and real from the moment Anna walks into Jacob's life, until the end credits roll.
In Los Angeles, the British Anna (Felicity Jones) and her college mate Jacob (Anton Yelchin) fall in love with each other.
Months later, the lawyer tells that Anna can return to the USA, and she leaves Simon and Jacob leaves Sam. Will their relationship be the same after the long period distant to each other?Yesterday I bought "Like Crazy" on DVD because of the name of Jennifer Lawrence, who plays a supporting character and is very beautiful and sexy.
If they're supposed to want, need, love and miss each other like crazy they have a really weird way of showing it.
However, there is a nagging conventionality and a relative imbalance to the love story that makes the film fall short of its emotional objective with this viewer.Yelchin and Jones play Jacob and Anna, senior-year college students in LA who fall in love shortly before the latter is to return to her native London.
Yelchin is saddled with the more elliptical role where we are left to guess how far he is willing to commit.Compelling in just a few scenes as Jacob's comely assistant Sam, Jennifer Lawrence ("Winter's Bone") is the inevitable temptation in his path, while Charlie Bewley makes less of an impression as Anna's neighbor Simon.
Framed by John Guleserian's hand-held digital camera-work, the film benefits from the incisive way Doremus staged several of the key scenes, especially the ones that highlight the intermittent disconnects between the lovers, and the young filmmaker shrewdly provides an ambiguous ending allowing viewers to fill in the blanks with the future of Jacob's and Anna's relationship.
Spoiler: the Last 10 minutes of the movie is what really pushed me over the edge, felicity Jones suddenly breaks up with this Simon guy gets approval to come the states(somewhere she quits her job at a magazine where she just got a raise, in this economy?) at the same time Anton yelchin fires his assistant/girlfriend Jennifer Lawrence, when felicity arrives they go home and immediately are both not happy and then it just ends.
The film had the potential to be good if there was more substance to the story, more time put into development of the initial relationship, casting lead actors who had chemistry and giving the characters an opportunity to grow in maturity.
Unfortunately, this mother of all hipster-montages is over all too quickly, and while the audience is supposed to fall in love along with Jacob and Anna, there is really no time to do so before they're thrust into the throes of the world's most boring f*ck-up of a 'relationship'.The film could perhaps have been salvaged were it not for how flat the main characters were.
This film tells the story of Anna (Felicity Jones) an English student in California studying journalism or something who claps eyes on Jacob (Anton Yelchin) in class and they start dating.
I have had this movie for some time but not had a chance to watch it, and I am so glad I finally got round to viewing this.It is truly a raw, real look at love, heartache and the gut wrenching feeling of not being able to be with the one you love when they consume your thoughts 100% of the time.The parts of Jacob and Anna were acted superbly by Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones.
I have been thinking about this film ever since and can't believe how effected I was by it.People have taken the ending quite differently it seems, but to me it seemed like they fought so hard for 5 years to be together but by the time it was finally possible, they had grown apart and were strangers in each others lives.
The story is about a British college student(Felicity Jones) while attending school in American, meets an American(Anton Yelchin), become like crazy for each other in love, hence the title.
It's the only scene with believable emotion and I actually felt for her character.The end of the movie is not great either.