THE LAST FIVE YEARS written and directed by Richard LaGravenese, based on the musical by Jason Robert Brown, with Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan. An Entertainment One release. 90 minutes. Opens Friday (February 13). Rating: NNNN
Watch online: iTunes
In this adaptation of the off-Broadway musical, a young couple (Anna Kendrick, Smash’s Jeremy Jordan) recount the ups and downs of their relationship in song – she moving backwards from the bitter end, and he going forwards from the optimistic beginning.
Richard LaGravenese isn’t the smoothest director of musicals, sometimes struggling to translate the intimate blocking of a stage performance to the more “real” world on screen, but the actors are so good at selling the concept that it almost doesn’t matter.
Kendrick in particular has never had a better showcase. She’s always been a vivid screen presence, but when she sings she’s electric. I was shocked to discover Summer In Ohio was part of the original musical, because she makes you believe it was written just for her.