Review: The Last Five Years

Director Richard Lagravanese listened to the soundtrack of the off-Broadway musical The Last Five Years before he actually saw the show. Jason Robert Brown's two-hander charted the ups and downs of a couple's relationship from dueling perspectives and chronologies.

Lagravanese retains the he said / she said structure in the film adaptation with Cathy (Anna Kendrick) starting from the relationship's dissolution and Jamie (Jeremy Jordan) reliving the arc commencing with their glory days. Cathy is Jamie's shiksa goddess, whose failed dreams of becoming an actress exacerbate her feelings of being marginalised as college dropout Jamie becomes a literary sensation upon publication of his debut novel. The imbalance becomes ever precarious as he's feted at various parties and book events, where she finds herself as abandoned as when he prioritises his career obligations over more personal matters like her birthday.

One can understand how the musical's emotionally resonant lyrics would have inspired Lagravenese, but the story is ill-served by its cinematic treatment. What is transcendent on a spare theater stage falls terribly flat onscreen. The romance drags, the characters grate, and even the songs start to bore. The cause is little helped by its awkward execution and inescapable claustrophobia.

Kendrick and Jordan do what they can to enliven the blandness. Their musical backgrounds are evident in the professionalism and poise they bring; each song is imbued with confidence and emotion. Yet their considerable charms cannot wring any value or interest out of a stubbornly inert romance.

The Last Five Years

Directed by: Richard Lagravenese

Written by: Richard Lagravenese; adapted from the musical by Jason Robert Brown

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Jeremy Jordan