A Sundance film at heart with a classic love at first sight plot, “Like Crazy” grabs onto the hearts of audience and never lets go.
“Like Crazy” follows two college graduates Jacob (Anton Yelchin) and Anna (Felicity Jones) as they struggle with their long distance relationship. A love story to its core, the movie flows in and out of the days and months of the couple’s relationship, magnifying the hurt and love they overcome.
Yelchin and Jones are impeccable. Their performances are raw and the camera acts as a third person giving the realistic effect of a modern day love story. From their first date, their love blossoms into a beautiful and innocent first love. The way that Yelchin and Jones look at each other in the most innocent ways at the simplest moments creates chemistry that is so hard to find between two actors.
The one and only time the title of the movie comes into play is when Jacob, a furniture designer, makes Anna a chair she can sit in and write in. On the bottom of the chair the words Like Crazy are carved into the wood. Being a motif in the movie, the chair symbolizes the simplicity of their love.
Their month’s together span out to what seems to be forever Anna has to return to the United Kingdom in order to not overstay her student visa. At this point, their chemistry is absolutely breathtaking, giving way to their decision to spend the summer together.
Viewers learn that a few months have passed and that Jacob and Anna have decided to just stay friends. Eventually, Jacob begins to date Sam (Jennifer Lawrence), an extremely sweet girl fully in love with him. Back in the UK, Anna misses Jacob and pleads with him to get married.
Once the two get married, nothing seems to get better especially for the fact that Anna is still unable to get a new visa leading to a heartbreaking scene in which Anna and Jacob argue ending with what seems to be a break-up.
It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see everything these two do to try stay together not working out, but that’s what makes the movie so realistic in showing that love hurts like crazy.
The love between Jacob and Anna, however, is just too strong and once Anna does receive her visa she moves back to California to be with Jacob. What happens to Sam and Jacob is unclear, but it seems to be an amicable split. The movie ends with the first night Anna spends in California giving hope to the possibility that their obstacles are finally over. The love each other like crazy.
“Like Crazy” is a seamlessly beautiful depiction of first love, as raw as it can be. The beauty, while it lies in the story, the director (Drake Doremus) creates an aura in which the audience is never sure how much time has elapsed in Anna and Jacob’s relationship, giving the movie a wonderfully realistic touch.
Eva Bialobrzeski is an A&E Editor for the JCpatriot and JCpatriot.com