Movie review: Like Crazy

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Genre: Romance, Drama

Opens locally Friday, November 11th, 2011 

Run Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes, Rated PG-13

Starring: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence
Co-written & Directed by Drake Doremus (Douchebag, Spooner, Moonpie)

Anybody who has ever been in a long distance relationship will surely connect with the main characters in “Like Crazy.”

​Anton Yelchin plays Jacob, an American student who meets a British college student, Anna, played by Felicity Jones. They meet and fall in love while she is in the states, and their infatuation for each other leads to her overstaying the time spelled out in her student visa. When she travels back home for her sister’s wedding, she tries getting back to the U.S. but is denied. Jacob would move to the U.K., but he has a successful business set up for himself in L.A. making it hard for him to uproot.

Love stories live and die with the chemistry created between the two leads, and that is the true treasure of “Like Crazy.” Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin both give award-worthy performances , and they have an undeniable connection that never feels false…although they are better at getting along than they are in the more tense, argumentative scenes. Their relationship feels real, and the solid script is peppered with little idiosyncrasies that should be relatable to anyone who has ever loved, or been loved. As we all know, it’s these little shared bonds that make up the meat of true love. A chair, for example, is just a chair, unless of course it means something more specific to you and your mate…an inside understanding or joke that only two people can share.

Those going into “Like Crazy” expecting a more commercial long-distance love story like the 2010 Drew Barrymore film “Going the Distance,” may be disappointed…”Like Crazy” is not a true comedy, although it does have light, funnier moments. Instead it puts a magnifying lens up against what it is that makes people fall, and stay, in love. As relatable as it may be, it also shows the harsh truth: That there is more to love than just being in love…it takes patience and growth. It also needs to happen for each person at precisely the right time.

​“Like Crazy” is more of an independent film, a relationship study of young love and borderline obsession. There’s a lot of truth and a youthful innocence to it, yet something about it doesn’t make it feel like a perfect film. However, the performances are top-notch and believable, and the real draw of the film. Both Yelchin and Jones are very, very good here. Like crazy good.