In it's essence, Like Crazy is a look into modern relationships and the trials and tribulations that we go through in the 21st century when in one. It starts off with the 2 main characters getting together in college, with Anna (Felicity Jones) being a British student in America and Jacob (Anton Yelchin) being American. Like most relationships, it starts off with a bang (excuse the pun) and they appear to fall in love almost immediately. The drama starts when Anna decides to overstay her visa so she can spend the summer with Jacob. This leads to complications when she goes back to Britain and tries to return to the US later on. Without wanting to spoil anything, it basically starts off with a long distance relationship and then progresses to eventually trying to move on.
The nature of the film sits somewhere between 500 Days of Summer and Blue Valentine, both of which I adore. It's not as cute as 500 but nowhere near as emotionally draining as Blue Valentine. However, this film does pose some of the same questions. As someone who has been in a situation similar to the characters, I definitely related to quite a few of the scenarios that popped up here. All too often in films we get everlasting fairytale love, or if not, then one character is usually portrayed as the "bad guy", but with Like Crazy, it's a refreshing look at 2 characters who both have their flaws, as we all do, but neither of which are really shown to be the antagonist, if you will. As in life, sometimes things just happen not through the fault of either party.
The 2 main characters not being superstars actually helped the film as the plot became the focus somewhat. That's not to say they don't have the acting chops because they both painted very real characters that I feel most of us will be able to feel and emphatize with. Jennifer Lawrence appears as well in a smaller role, but I feel her character was somewhat underdeveloped.
The few main questions the film posed to me was, "How far can the idea of love be taken?", "How much of it is actually worth it?", and "How do you know whether it's truly love, or just being in love with the idea of love and being afraid to let go?"
All 3 themes are explored within the film but most importantly I think, it is up to the viewer to answer them and gives you something to take away from watching this. One quote from the movie really stuck with me and perhaps it was during a period of my life where it rang true.
"I just... It doesn't feel like this, this thing is gonna go away, it's always there. I can't... I can't get on with my life."
Without wanting to drag this out too long, another noteworthy point is the soundtrack, which really added a lot to most scenes. So go download this or something, watch it and let me know what you think. As always, thanks for reading and I will talk to you guys and girls again hopefully soon!
Rycommended: Definitely worth watching on a quiet night in.
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