This romance flick stars “Pitch Perfect” lead, Anna Kendrick, and Jeremy Jordan from the film “Joyful Noise.” The film, originally an off-broadway musical, is written by Jason Robert Brown. Jordan plays, Jamie, a passionate Jewish writer and Kendrick plays Cathy, a striving actress. The two portray a married couple who pursue their respective careers while struggling to maintain their marriage.
The film takes place in present day New York with some flashbacks following Cathy’s time in Ohio. It begins by showing a lonely Cathy who sings about the impending divorce between her and Jaime. From there, the film flashbacks to different moments of their past five years. Cathy reminisces on the relationship in reverse starting from the moment Jaime leaves Cathy. Jamie’s story follows their relationship in chronological order starting with the couple’s first moments.
“The Last Five Years” is definitely not a film for those who have a distaste for musicals. It is similar to the film “Les Miserables” where the characters sing throughout and very few words are spoken. It is not for viewers who are not musical fans; like my boyfriend who was done watching the film after the first 15 minutes. As a musical lover, I enjoyed the film. At times the film was hard to follow with the timeline of events jumping and switching between each characters story. In all “The Last Five Years” proves that not all stage productions necessarily come across the same on screen.
