User reviews

As the movie's title suggest, I truly wanted to fall in crazy love with "Like Crazy". By the end, I instead just gave it a pat on the shoulder and became more interested in what the stars and director would be doing after the movie than in the film that just screened. 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. Unfortunately it only shines through it's individual moments, but as a whole it lacks a certain emotional center as the main romantic pairing, played by Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin, is just not convincing.

Not for lack of trying. Director Drake Doremus has certainly made a lovely film out of a very small budget, and again proves (after his first film Douchebag) that he has a way of coaxing some nuanced performances out of familiar character archetypes. It's refreshing to see a movie where people don't always know the perfect thing to say and end up saying what they actually feel, or feeling unable to say anything at all. 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. Jones slowly melds what could initially seem like a contradiction into a very real, imperfect human character that you can't quite understand but you can feel remarkably close to, and it's easy to see how someone could be very drawn to her. Anton Yelchin, as Jacob, has the much harder task: his Jacob has an almost too-passive interest in this love affair, but while the character on the page might be too much of a cipher, Yelchin has a clever acting style that suggests there's more to Jacob than meets the eye.

And there's no questioning that "Like Crazy" is a consistiently engaging and intriguing experience. There's just a big problem when the central romance in an in-and-out-of-love story is the weakest part of film. Their relationship ultimately feels completely tied to plot, with no real sense that it would exist off camera. We become interested in Jacob and Anna individually, but never as a couple.

Jacob seems rather unwilling to uproot his life to be with her, or even borrow money from her parents so he can stay the post-graduation summer in England, and it is a bit baffling to wonder how someone as smart (or supposedly smart) as Anna would be willing to overlook his slowly growing indifference and find out far too late that their romance is dying.

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 more an affirtmation of Lawrence's considerable talents as an actress that she takes a role as contrived as this and ends up making the audience truly feel her heartbreak. Though it's a big problem when we're more torn up over the affair rather than the movie's main romance.

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. You end up wishing they would just move on and live their lives rather than root for them to make it through their immigration-complicated struggle, as the feelings just do not seem to be reciprocated. 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. The early scenes of Jacob and Anna's romance are far too brief (with an excessive fondness of montages and quick scene cuts) and far too much screen time is spent after Anna's banned from the US that "Crazy" never really has time to breathe. There's never any time to truly reveal what would make these two would-be romantics not only connect but fall passionately in love with each other. Surely it's more than a mutual love for Paul Simon's "Graceland" or rides in go-karts (yep, that's in the movie too).

Perhaps it's a compliment to say that the film should've been a bit longer, but it also means we're left needing more. The movie does have a potentially terrific ending, but too bad the charming but uncogent scenes before make it an afterthought rather than something more potent and emotional. That makes the whole experience just all the more tantalizing and disappointing. We haven't fallen in love with "Like Crazy", we're just enamored with what could've been.

Anna (Felicity Jones) and Jacob (Anton Yelchin) are in love with each like crazy. Hence the title, "Like Crazy". They are in, or want to be in, a grown-up relationship — one where they act like adults and are just a part of each other's lives. But they met each other at college and one stupid idea forces them to make grown-up decisions that will affect the rest of their lives quicker than they would have liked.

"Like Crazy" is just about their relationship. We watch as they fall in love, grow apart, find a middle road, and then try and pick an extreme. Anna is a writer and Jacob is a furniture constructor. But their lives are just so inconsequential to the film which is the way it has to be when it is only about their relationship.

The film is minimal in story, in characters, in budget, and in production. And that's what makes it so sweet. Made for only $250,000 and edited in the director's bedroom, it's a story and film of passion.

I found it to be very similar to "Blue Valentine" (2010), but perhaps not as impactful — at least to me. Both played to rave reviews at Sundance, last year "Blue" picked up the Grand Jury Prize nomination, this year "Crazy" got the Jury win for both director Drake Doremus and actress Felicity Jones.

I first saw Felicity Jones last year in "Cemetery Junction" (2010). She played this beautifully innocent girl in a town where innocence just doesn't really exist. In "Like Crazy" she plays a beautiful, adult-like young woman growing up in a world of love but learns that she might not know what love is after all.

Not fair to put an audience through all that and then muddy the ending. Not fair to the characters. This film deserved a strong ending and so did the characters. Extremely lazy and disappointing.

"I thought I understood it. But I didn't. I knew the smudgeness of it. The eagerness of it. The Idea of it. Of you and me." Anna (Felicity Jones)

Like Crazy is about the craziness of love without a Hollywood spin but with a conventional story that tells it like love is: unadorned, raw, a puzzle, and a disappointment. Director Drake Doremus handed the outline to actors Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin and the rest was an organic script, albeit weaker than ones Brit director Mike Leigh develops with his cast.

Although the dialogue is spare and prosaic, the realism is spot on as the young couple struggles most of all with long distance. She is on visa from the UK to study in LA. He meets her at college; she overstays her visa time and is banned from returning to the US until a lengthy process of appeal is followed.

Those who have struggled with that distance demon know how right the artists get the frustrations and changes that plague those who challenge cupid across the pond over too long a time.

Although many traditional moviegoers will not like the ending, they can be comforted that it is, alas, only too true. If nothing else, Like Crazy is a textbook study of long distance love that should be a caution before young lovers attempt the navigation.

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. For those who don't know the plot, basically a British student, Anna, falls for Jacob, an American student. They fall for each other right away, and spend the summer together. However, she violates the stay of her student visa, and when she tries to return to L.A., she is denied. Thus, our two lovers are separated by distance and multiple levels of bureaucracy that prove to be most unfair. Can they make it work, and should they? Some have compared it to '500 Days of Summer,' and there are a few similarities. The major difference is the lack of any unique narrative devices and that it is, in fact, a love story. First and foremost, let me say that Felicity Jones as Anna is a revelation. She owns the screen and was utterly charming and devastatingly beautiful. There's a scene in the first 10 minutes after they spend their first evening together, and they sit on her bed, and a sense of tension but young awkwardness that fills the room. When the conversation falters out, she gives him a look that was filled with such delicate longing; fueled by the power of young love and the possibilities before them. It was in this moment that Anna, and Felicity, won me over. The chemistry between her and her co-star Anton was realistic and powerful. Much of the film was improvised; the director said he would often leave the camera rolling for twenty to thirty minutes at a time just to capture them together. It shows. I felt myself hoping and wishing for them to work it all out, to end up together.

The music is fantastic. It provides the heartbeat to the film and is a wonderful compliment. It's well edited - the film ultimately takes place over what seems to be a couple of years. Unlike early versions of the film, title cards have been removed and a series of jump cuts progresses the time. You have to pay close attention at times to have a firm grasp on the passage of time. There are moments when they are happy and together that are so iconic. Walking the streets of London, at times they looked like the cover of a Bob Dylan cover. Quick cuts of them together whether in LA or London are quite beautiful.

This film was obviously made based on real experiences, and the filmmakers admitted that it was the combination of many of their experiences. It's a realistic film. Things aren't easy. You will smile and laugh and other times feel just as much despair as our characters. There are no easy answers in this film, and your ultimate interpretation and perhaps enjoyment of the film depends on what you bring to the table, and your feelings on love, and just how much you believe in it. This film should make Felicity Jones a star in the way that 'An Education' benefited Carey Mulligan.

I love the premise. I love the actors. I love that it's low budget and obviously improvised. I even love the style. But at its heart there's something missing, something false, about the way it comes together. This is the Monkees to "Blue Valentine"'s Beatles. It's a kind of faux verite film that lacks the punch and grit and...well, genuine-ness that the genre demands. Even with all that said I have high hopes for the future of Felicity Jones, who steals every scene and proves herself a HUGE talent to be watched. She's gorgeous and sincere and almost saves the scenes that are just too over-dramatic and contrived to ring true. So overall there's a lot to like here...but it's just a little too plastic for its own good.

Don't let it's indie roots fool you. 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. Yelchin and Jones have chemistry and they play it across the board. You will smile, laugh, cry, and hold your breath as these two characters waltz in and out of each others' lives. 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. It doesn't play up stereotypes. It doesn't beat out the indie clichés. The dialogue is naturally paced and feels richly authentic. The subtext is dramatic.

This film is worth every dollar and dime in my mind. If you get the chance, go see it. 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.

No theme in drama touches the heart more than the separation of lovers. In classic dramas from Romeo and Juliet to Wuthering Heights, we empathize with the feelings of sadness and loss that estrangement brings and can relate them to our own experience. Some stories of separation, however, lack deeply-drawn characters and do not have the same emotional impact. 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. After she places a love note on his windshield after class, the two begin a whirlwind relationship that develops so fast that before we can swallow our pop corn and think of how we met our first love, they are way ahead of us, already pledging their undying love.

While the two young lovers are immensely appealing, we witness no genuine development of their relationship, only derivative montages showing them at an amusement park, playing in the sand, kissing under a full moon, and, of course, running along a beach. The dialogue is mostly improvised to promote "realism", but the lovers are not well defined and come across as seemingly without interest in anything outside of themselves (other than Paul Simon). 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. Originally planning to go home for the summer, Anna decides to stay with Jacob for a few months, unaware of or not caring about the fact that she is overstaying her student visa limitation. When she does go home for a brief visit to attend a wedding, on her return she comes up against immigration regulations designed to weed out terrorists and other undesirables. The Immigration Officer (Iris Taylor Cameron) emphatically makes Anna aware of her transgressions and forbids her to re-enter the U.S.

Though most people struggle to gain a rung on the economic ladder after leaving school, both Anna and Jacob have become successes in their professions only one year after graduation, Anna writing for a magazine on her way to being made a junior editor, and Jacob running a successful furniture business. After several back and forth visits between London and Los Angeles, they break-up, then reconcile before they are again driven apart once again by disagreements. 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. In some respect, Like Crazy shows the sad plight of immature young people drawn into situations that are not of their own making. Yet to me, the characters are defined, not as victims of overbearing forces that are determined to keep them apart, but by their own absence of responsibility, commitment, and integrity, values that may seem old-fashioned but are an important part of the new story that is in the process of re-envisioning society.

This is a love story that was quite interesting to me, because the parts that didn't work were the parts dealing with the actual love. Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin were both excellent on their own, burning with pain while trying to move on with their life and just exist with this hole inside of them. However it was when they were together that the film lost it's appeal for me. I couldn't feel any chemistry between them, so I had no stake in a large majority of it because I didn't understand why they wanted to be together. Even with their first meeting they seemed so dour together, I never once felt any genuine love there.

The conversations between them were good and honest, albeit typical, and the fact that they improvised a lot of their dialogue makes it more impressive. Unfortunately the premise hinges on an event that I couldn't realistically buy for a second so any sadness the characters felt didn't have enough of an impact on me because there was always this looming anger towards them for being so dumb and getting themselves in this situation. The ending is a smart move, but it's also a pretty straight Graduate rip-off, so I can't commend it too much.

I'm harping a lot on the things that I didn't like about the film, but I think ultimately there were more positives than negatives for me. The actors really shined individually, even if they didn't sell the core relationship for me, and quite a few of their separate scenes gave me an emotional reaction, albeit not to the extreme that they should have hit me. So I'm pretty lukewarm on it overall, but I at least admired the acting.

"Like Crazy" is a romantic drama directed and co-written by Drake Doremus. Starring Anton Yelchin, emerging actress Felicity Jones, and Jennifer Lawrence. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for best film at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

No question Doremus has a lot of talent, he is a great young director and it shows it with the great cinematography in this film. Throughout, the performances are good and natural.

The love story was inspired by events of Doremus's real life. Unfortunately is far from been one of the greatest love story of all time. It fails to deliver "emotion" at all levels, which is one of the most essential components in a love story. I didn't really feel the chemistry between the two main characters failing to portrait that passionate connection they supposedly have in the film.

This film was beautiful. I saw it at the Sundance Film Festival and fell in love with it Like Crazy. Everything from the acting, to the cinematography, to the story line was amazing. And to think it was shot on the Canon 7D is incredible. I saw 14 films at Sundance and this was my favorite film in the festival. During the Q&A after the film the director made it clear that this film is about the true story of his own relationship with a girl. I would recommend this film to people who have experienced a long distant relationship and to teenage/young adult audiences. This film is the Winner of the U.S. Dramatic Competition Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. I think it deserved this prize. This film made me feel all sorts of different emotions. This film really is a beautiful story and I am excited to see it coming out in theaters.

Saw 'Like Crazy' yesterday. 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. My only issue with it is that it's the plot of 'Going The Distance' filmed in exactly the same way as 'Blue Valentine' - photographically and stylistically, with a view to creating the same 'real' and raw emotion. And it's the latter film comparison that grates. I was so struck by the similarity that I did a little research on the director, Drake Doremus, and it turns out that he shot this film after submitting his last film ('Douchebag') to Sundance in 2010 and deciding he wanted to do something more 'from the heart'. 'Blue Valentine' was also at that festival. Derek Cianfrance took 15 years to bring his film to completion and it was an original and exciting concept that was raw and honest. Doremus knocked his teen-copy out in a year for a fraction of the budget. Good for him. But bad for art? '500 Days Of Summer' was a good movie. But I guess you could argue that it was 'Eternal Sunshine' for teens. And adult stories, such as Dangerous Liasons -remade as Cruel Intentions- have been repackaged and rejuvenated for teenagers, so I s'pose it's nothing new. It's just a shame that when something is popular, interesting, original or even unique, the bandwagon starts up and is, usually -and ultimately- driven by studios and corporations. For every Amy Winehouse, there's 5 Duffys (Duffies?), 2 Paloma Faiths and a dozen one-hit-wonders who I can no longer remember. 'Like Crazy' is more of a Paloma Faith - meaning it's good in its own right. Really good. But I can't help feeling that, not only is it Blue Valentine for teens, but it's Blue Valentine-lite ... which is a far more damning criticism.

It's so refreshing to see that really good movies can still be made once in a while. The Philadelphia Film Festival began this past week and chose a great movie to open with: Like Crazy. It won the Grand Jury Prize for best film at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, and deservedly so. It stars Anton Yelchin, one of those names you may not know but whose face you've probably seen before. He plays Jacob. The other star of the film is Felicity Jones, who won't have as recognizable of a face as she has mainly made movies only in England. She plays Anna. Jacob and Anna meet early in the film while attending the same college. There's an immediate attraction and they instantly hit it off. It's not long before we see how madly in love they fall for each other. It's the kind of love that most people only see in movies and never get to experience for themselves. In fact, they seem so in love and happy together at such an early stage of the film that you wonder where the movie is going from there. Well of course nothing's ever as perfect as it seems, and a big hurdle comes along that stands in their way of complete happiness. Anna is not an American citizen after all. She was attending college in the U.S. but still lives in England. So when she overstays her visa, she finds herself banned from the country. Why did she overstay her welcome? She did it to be with Jacob, of course. When someone is truly in love, they will often do anything they can to be with that person; but they sometimes forget about the consequences of those actions. At this point, the two lovebirds must decide on whether to maintain the new long distance relationship. It's not just any long distance relationship of course, it's an overseas relationship. That's a situation which is pretty tough for just about any couple to pull off. So the movie then shifts its tone to one of compromise and struggle. How much can one person sacrifice for the other? Can they somehow lift the ban, or will Jacob have to move to England thus leaving his current job in the U.S.? Is it all even worth it after it's all said and done? Many questions arise, not to mention the possibility of finding new love in their own respectable countries with someone else. It's a great film dealing with human emotions and how far we will go for another person. The two actors pour their hearts out on screen and it can be mesmerizing at times. Like Crazy opens nationwide on October 28. It's an independent film though so it will surely be shown in limited release, but find it if you can.

Like Crazy (2011)

A sweet, troubled love story. The troubles come from both the young couple who have to keep their idealized love alive after the woman has to move from L.A. to England because of visa issues. Once the couple is apart they try to find ways of keeping things alive, or keeping things open minded in the meanwhile. Tensions and misunderstandings of course become the meat of the movie, and in ways that are very simple and believable.

I think the goal was to keep the relationship as "normal" as possible even if the situation was slightly unusual. This has two effects. One is it makes you think it's an insightful look at ourselves, or what could be ourselves in a similar spot. The other is that it's a little self-deflating. The whole situation is so ordinary, even though well done ordinary, you don't fully get swept away or rapt.

There are slice of life movies that are about ordinary life that are more successful partly because the slice of life is more interesting to start with. There is more here in the way, however, including some writing that wanes when you need a sparkle or an epiphany. (Even ordinary people have epiphanies.) And the editing or pacing of things lacks what you might just call artfulness--a handling of the unfolding to be more absorbing and emphatic. (Hard to critique editing in a sentence but if you notice you might agree.)

In the end it's not a bad movie--there's nothing "bad" about it. In fact it's charming on the surface. That it doesn't do more might be because it didn't want to. And so we have what we have.

"Like Crazy" was my favorite movie at the Sundance Film Festival this year. It is a love story that I think many people can relate to. (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. Or maybe they didn't like it because they only enjoy movies with cars exploding and lots of automatic gunfire. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but at least fess up in your reviews and say you'd rather be watching an action flick.

If you're not in the above categories, I recommend watching this film with your significant other. All of the actors are a delight to watch; they are natural and absolutely in the moment - no forced acting whatsoever. According to the director, they had a very limited script, basically just situations for each scene; so they used intuition with their characters and the dialogue. It's been a long time since I've seen a film with such real chemistry between characters, but this one has it.