Movie review: Like Crazy

Like Crazy starring Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones. Photo / Supplied

A wistful and charming romantic drama, Like Crazy draws together very real and relatable moments from a couple's first love. A montage of sorts, the first half is a celebration of the euphoria of falling in love for the first time, while the second half serves to remind us just how tough and unfair the real world can be.

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Picture at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, Like Crazy is directed and co-written by Drake Doremus, and the key to its success lies in the film's casting.

English actress Felicity Jones and American actor Anton Yelchin are perfectly matched as young students Anna and Jacob. They meet at college in California and after Anna instigates a date they hit it off as they listen to the music of Paul Simon, whisper under sheets, and share Anna's dream to be a writer and Jacob's of being a furniture maker.

It's a simple, stripped-back story that was largely improvised by Jones and Yelchin. It focuses on the small and awkward moments in a new relationship, rather than the typical showpieces like the first kiss or first sexual encounter. In fact, if you're hoping for sex scenes you'll be disappointed with the lack of action between the sheets; Doremus is more concerned with what happens between a couple when their love is unfairly tested.

After Anna violates the terms of her visa she's unable to re-enter the United States and sent home to England, and it's here we move from the joy of first love to the pain it can inflict as Anna and Jacob's relationship becomes a long-distance affair.

As much as Doremus' handheld and in-your-face shooting style creates an intimate tone it also flirts with being a little bit contrived and arty, and it does take a while for the story to get under your skin.

But it's the genuine chemistry between Jones and Yelchin that gets you there. It may be a while since your first love affair but there is plenty of material that will resonate, and that's the joy of Like Crazy, its moments, no matter how small, are captivating, and familiar.

Stars: 4/5
Cast: Felicity Jones, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence
Director: Drake Doremus
Running time: 86 mins
Rating: M (sex scenes and offensive language)
Verdict: A fresh, genuine, honest study of first love

-TImeOut