Like Crazy

Like Crazy was a 2011 romantic drama movie starring Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Alex Kingston and Oliver Muirhead. It was written and directed by Drake Doremus. There have been news on the net that it might have been based n the story of Doremus and his ex-wife, though I;m not really sure if that's true as I haven't found any statement from Doremus. I wanted to watch the movie before because Jennifer Lawrence was in it, and a few hours ago, Simon Pegg tweeted about it saying it was good. That sealed the deal and I went ahead and watched the movie.

The story was about two lovers, a British student, Anna (Jones), who came to Los Angeles to study, and Jacob, an aspiring furniture designer. Things started out simple, and I really liked that aspect. There was no overly romantic cliches usually seen in other movies. It was simple, subtle, and silent. It worked well that way. Their love story suddenly became rocky when Anna could no longer enter the United States because of a ban issued against her pertaining to her violation of her student visa. The story then went on to tackle troubles of having a long distance relationship.

The relationship became highly unstable. They loved each other but at the same time other factors needed to be considered. Thus starting the sequence of their on-again-off-again relationship. I guess what the movie highlighted was the difficulties of having to deal with long distance relationships. The longing, the paranoia, the lack of a particular something. It wasn't just about the distance, it was the other factors surrounding the relationship. The attack of Doremus, given that he wrote and directed it, was just amazing. And the actors were all amazing as well. It was like the perfect trio, a good story, a wise director, and talented actors.

I'm not sure if this was the goal, but I found it a little heartbreaking. For starters, the soundtracks and background music of the movie was insanely melancholic at times, although very fitting. The music just created this certain atmosphere for me. There was also the story and the way the actors played their parts. There were a lot of silent moments in the movie, but with the way the actors were just looking at each other, or just sitting, I could tell what was going on. The body language did everything, and it worked even more than the dialogues.

Just a thought, and I'm not trying to sound like anything, but I really pity the characters of Jennifer Lawrence and Charlie Bewley, Samantha and Simon respectively. I thought it was painful for them to be involved with people even though they knew that those people loved someone else. I thought it was a lot more painful for Samantha only because she got involved in a relationship she knew would be doomed sooner or later, at least the first time she got together with Jacob. Just thought I'd mention that.

The ending was abrupt. The film just ended right when things were getting unclear. That's the beauty of it, I guess. It's an open ending and the viewers could theorize if they do end up together or not. Personally, I interpreted it as the former. I don't think they ended up together for several reasons. First, while showering together, they reminisce all the good times they had, the happy times when they were just starting the relationship. It was not about the memories, but it was more of the difference. There was no longer a spark between them. Second, throughout the movie, the relationship had been turbulent and during the shower, they had the same look as the ones they had before saying goodbye to one another. Third, they way Anna left Jacob in the shower, I thought was symbolical of the upcoming breakdown of their relationship. These are all just speculations and personal interpretations. Regardless, I thought the ending was perfect as there's something to take away, to reflect upon.

I just found the story compelling. It got a little complicated after the first hour, but the whole story, I thought, was really good. I'm not one to watch romantic movies regularly; and when I do, I greatly appreciate it when the story and the whole movie work. I just thought aloud by writing my thoughts about the movie. But it really was a good movie. I was practically smiling the whole time, even though I didn't think I'd like the movie all that much. But I did. It was an unexpected surprise, and I absolutely enjoyed it.