So guess whose cable provider had\u00a0The Last Five Years<\/em> available on-demand? Yep, this girl\u2019s! I spent the better part of my Friday night\u00a0watching\u00a0The Last Five Years\u00a0<\/em>twice. (I was given a 2-day rental and wanted to watch it as many times as possible.) I wasn\u2019t sure how they were going to do the high-concept play given the anachronistic order of the songs. But from what I heard, this movie was made for the theater fans first.<\/p>\n It\u2019s clear that they had the theater fans in mind when they start up this movie because it starts out with Cathy (played by Anna Kendrick) looking at the letter that Jamie left her. There\u2019s little to no action, but a lot of different camera angles that lets the audience know that this story won\u2019t have a happy ending. (\u201cI can see the end as it begins\u201d says Taylor Swift.) The instrumental interlude that acts as the bridge of the song is shown with pictures of times gone by. At the end of the scene, Cathy walks to the bedroom and takes off a bracelet, a watch, and her rings. But before you\u2019re left wondering where things go from there, we are taken back\u2026<\/p>\n I am highly\u00a0highly<\/em> disappointed that \u201cShiksa Goddess\u201d was done as a sex scene instead of a first date. And yes, there are people who sleep on the first date. The movie implies that this might be the case for Jamie and Cathy. If that\u2019s what they intended, the two of them\u00a0were doomed from the start. Anyway, before the two of them get it on, Jamie (played by Jeremy Jordan) talks about all the Jewish girls from back home he dated, who are shown in shadows with minimal lighting, showing that to Jamie, these girls were just shadows, a sea of barely-there faces to him. Then the two of them get straight to business. It\u2019s thankfully PG-13 as far as sex scenes go. (As someone who\u2019s seen Seasons 6 and 7 of Buffy, it\u2019s about comparable with the sex scenes from that particular show.) The scene ends with Jamie and Cathy the next morning, still making out on her stairwell.<\/p>\n The next scene takes us out to Ohio. According to the album sleeve, several of the songs were filmed live. This is one of them, with the audience being able to hear birds chirping. The sweater that Cathy wears is definitely funny, but not what I imagined as a \u201cDaisy Mae\u201d sweater.\u00a0Knowing what I know about the timeline, I knew why Jamie wanted to leave Ohio so soon and it\u2019s clear Cathy has her suspicions when she talks about how Jamie likes to play with his little girlfriends. Although the camera angles here were weird (Shaky cam? Really?) and Cathy didn\u2019t sink down crying like I always imagined, I want to give props to Anna Kendrick for mastering the conversational singing that this song calls for. Did I mention how I\u00a0love<\/em> how the drums come in when things get confrontational, almost like a battle? It\u2019s little things like that that make musicals amazing for me.<\/p>\n \u201cMoving Too Fast\u201d shows us the first bits of dialogue from the musical. I only saw glimpses of how the dialogue worked in-show from YouTube videos. The dialogue scenes are there to fill in the gaps and establish stuff. In the case of this scene, it\u2019s to show how quickly Jamie jumps into things without thinking twice. As soon as he gets the call that his manuscript is accepted by an agent and is being read by a well known publishing house, Jamie calls up Cathy and says \u201cHey, let\u2019s move in together.\u201d Keep in mind, they\u2019ve probably been together for maybe a year, maybe 2 at most. The title of this song is a gross understatement as to how fast the relationship is progressing. Jamie is not even 24 yet and he thinks he\u2019s got it made. As someone in her early 20s, I can relate to wanting so much so soon. The difference is that for me, a little patience goes a long way. The scene ends with Jaime chatting this up with his publisher, Alise. More on her later.<\/p>\n The next scene starts out at a party promoting Jamie\u2019s book which has been spending 66 weeks on the bestseller list. Cathy is making small talk at various parties. Whenever I listened to this song, I always imagined it being more domestic, like Cathy\u2019s singing to herself while Jamie is writing. There are domestic parts in this scene, though, like Cathy taking a picture of Jamie smiling. But product placement aside, it would\u2019ve been funny to see Jamie snacking on Doritos. As a chronic snacker, I can totally relate. \u00a0It\u2019s interesting how Jamie and Cathy are always kept apart in this scene, with Cathy playing the role of the dutiful wife while Jamie schmoozes, wines, and dines. Even towards the end, when they are sitting together, they\u2019re not even really looking at each other. I also like how, at the end, it shows Cathy reading Jamie\u2019s manuscript and then looking at the dedication, as if to affirm to herself that she is, indeed, part of his life.<\/p>\n One thing I noticed on repeat viewings is that \u201cThe Schmuel Song\u201d is the only song in the movie other than \u201cNext Ten Minutes\u201d that shows the most interaction between Jamie and Cathy. \u201cShiksa Goddess\u201d was more of Jamie talking to Cathy and \u201cSee I\u2019m Smiling\u201d keeps the two of them apart emotionally and physically, more combative than cooperative. This scene is a stark contrast to the previous numbers, showing their first Christmas together. Cathy arrives home after a long, frustrating day waiting tables at a bar and jokes about how her agent is probably making a blood sacrifice at his agent retreat. Jamie cheers Cathy up by telling her a story.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I had known there would be this many stories, I never would\u2019ve dated a writer,\u201d Cathy said. (Word of warning btw to all guys who want to date me: this applies.)<\/p>\n But Jamie insists and it\u2019s clear that Cathy is entertained in spite of her crappy mood. Jeremy Jordan\u2019s accents and voices in the story are hilarious and entertaining. Cathy is shocked to find out that she is Schmuel in the story and not the girl from Odessa. (And I\u2019d honestly be offended to. Really, Jamie? Casting your girlfriend as an old man?) But Jamie\u2019s support of Cathy and Cathy\u2019s laughter as they dance around their apartment is equally heartwarming and heartbreaking. We also see where the watch Cathy took off at the beginning came from: it was Jamie\u2019s Christmas present to her, a symbol of the time that he wants to give her.<\/p>\n I was highly disappointed to see that the guitar player in \u201cA Summer in Ohio\u201d was not Cathy but someone from the acting company. Rehearsals from Cathy\u2019s show are interspersed with her video calling Jamie and I can\u2019t help but sing and dance along. Again, they could\u2019ve played this scene for a lot more comedy than it actually showed. But there are bits and pieces I loved, especially the shoutouts to \u201cSound of Music\u201d when Cathy sings about Richard. But it would\u2019ve been so cool to have seen Cathy actually buying Jamie\u2019s book in that Target in Kentucky. Oh well. It\u2019s a lovely rendition of my go-to song on the soundtrack. Just saying it could\u2019ve been played for more laughs. BTW: Hi, Betsy Wolfe cameo!<\/p>\n As I stated before, if I was the one who edited the trailer, I would\u2019ve just shown \u201cThe Next Ten Minutes\u201d and snippets from the movie. And when I saw the scene, I was basically glued to the screen. It starts with a closeup of Jamie and Cathy taking a walk in the park, holding hands. The shot is focused on their hands up until the conversation ends. It plays almost like a memory, not really recalling what the other said. Even though Cathy and Jamie have no dialogue with each other, the chemistry between Kendrick and Jordan is best shown here. What\u2019s interesting, though, is that they only show a glimpse of the wedding and then track out to a view of New York City again. Instead of showing Jamie and Cathy dancing together to that all-too-familiar waltz, the scene turns back the clock to Cathy\u2019s POV, showing that from here on out, the timelines are once again apart. You\u2019ll see how much hope Cathy had at the beginning and how heartbreaking things go when the relationship finally ends.<\/p>\n The transition from the beauty of \u201cThe Next Ten Minutes\u201d to \u201cA Miracle Would Happen\u201d is jarring, almost implying that Jamie deals with the temptation of adultery almost as soon as the honeymoon is over. Jamie is out with his friends, talking and having drinks amongst crowds of beautiful women. I was kind of sad at how the woman Jamie calls \u201ca pair of breasts\u201d is barely seen. And yes, Jamie is seeing hot chicks everywhere, but he\u2019s kind of at fault for putting himself in the near occasion of sin, not only by going to these parties but being seen in a strip joint. The tale of the fool seduced by an adulterous woman in Proverbs 7 comes to mind here. And my fears of Jamie finally giving into that temptation are realized when he takes a good look at his publisher, Alise, getting ready for a party. Cathy is seen in this scene doing a successful audition. BTW: Hi Sheri Rene Scott cameo! After the audition ends, Cathy says it\u2019s for something off-Broadway, but later it\u2019s shown that it just sent her back to Ohio.<\/p>\n \u201cClimbing Uphill\u201d shows Cathy in the midst of a bad audition. BTW: Hi, Jason Robert Brown cameo! We see a long line of girls in red dresses and Cathy is just another one of them. This scene could\u2019ve been played for so much more comedy (listen to how Betsey Wolfe sings it for comparison), but for what I got, it was a very funny scene. Show of hands: How many of us ever had those times when we were making a presentation and we were thinking about everything\u00a0but<\/em> the presentation? Yeah, that\u2019s happened to me. The scene shifts to Jamie giving a presentation of his novel, reading a passage from it. All the while, Cathy is uber-frustrated that she seems stuck in a rut while Jamie is successful in his career. The anger is hiding under the surface\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026And then it boils over when the scene transitions to a fight between Jamie and Cathy. You know that whole fight they had in \u201cSee I\u2019m Smiling\u201d about Jamie always going to parties? It\u2019s not the first time they had this fight. This scene is\u00a0painful<\/em> to watch. Like Buffy Season 6 painful. Eleventh Doctor\u00a0rengeration painful. Train going off the rails painful. But the acting in this scene is awesome to watch. Where Anna Kendrick nailed the conversational singing in \u201cSee I\u2019m Smiling,\u201d Jeremy Jordan nails it in \u201cIf I Didn\u2019t Believe in You.\u201d This is one of those times where you read between the lines. Yes, Jamie is frustrated at Cathy, but it\u2019s also clear that he\u2019s starting to lose faith in her. Both of them are in the wrong in this fight. I also notice little things from the Schmuel Song scene that show up as props, realizing that those happy memories are far behind the once-happy couple. When Cathy walks out and Jamie yells at her as she slams the door, I basically end up turning into a crumple on the couch.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t get me wrong when I say that I love<\/em>\u00a0\u201cI Can Do Better Than That.\u201d But this lovely, gorgeous song, is just so heartbreaking because it\u2019s sandwiched between the painful song that came before it and the very despairing song that follows afterwards. I kind of wanted to see a flashback to Cathy\u2019s days as a Jersey Girl, seeing Carol Ann and Mitchell as they go from shotgun wedding to settled down. Instead, I see the guy with the well-placed tattoos and Cathy sleeping with him. Also, a Post-it note hardly counts as a \u201cheartfelt letter.\u201d Jamie and Cathy are driving back to New Jersey to meet Cathy\u2019s parents and then they\u2019re seen driving back to New York in the end of the scene.<\/p>\n Remember all the stuff I said a couple paragraph\u2019s ago about how painful it was to watch Cathy and Jamie have a fight? Yeah. This scene hurts too. Instead of Jamie having\u00a0one<\/em> affair, he has a string of them. The misery that Jamie feels during these affairs is written all over Jeremy Jordan\u2019s face. Alise, who we saw glimpses of in previous scenes, becomes another notch on his bedpost at the end of the scene, but she seems to have some sticking power, since Jaime decides that if he\u00a0has<\/em> to be in love with someone, maybe she could be that someone. Instead of fighting to stay together, Jamie looks for a way out.<\/p>\n We are now taken back to the beginning, in the morning after the \u201cShiksa Goddess\u201d scene. That piano intro btw? I\u2019ll never get over it. I am in\u00a0love<\/em> with the melody of this song like a long-time love affair. Anyway, we see Jamie leaving Cathy\u2019s apartment, the morning-after bliss as clear on their faces. Although why the scene was shot in the daytime when Cathy sings \u201cleave this night clean and quiet,\u201d I will never know. Again, why couldn\u2019t this have been a nice first date scene? Cathy starts the second verse walking towards the apartment that she will eventually live in. In my mind, it shows Cathy sort of wandering around the city, just taking everything in about how wonderful her relationship is.<\/p>\n But then we pan over to Jamie who is writing his goodbye letter to Cathy. And the Cathy from the past transitions from being a real person to a memory. To say that this scene is heartwrenching is an understatement. He starts singing to Cathy as he walks out the door, but the Cathy he sings to is just a memory. The regret and hurt is all in Jamie\u2019s eyes, but he feels almost as if he has to. The movie ends with the scene transitioning into a gray afternoon, possibly a night shot, with Cathy walking into the apartment, ending basically where the movie began.<\/p>\n Now for my overall critique. I definitely love this movie, but I also know that it\u2019s not for everyone. Some of the camera angles were weird and some of the choices the director made felt off compared to what I saw in my head. This play is a hard one to adapt to film, but overall, I think they did a good job. One opportunity that the director missed out on is showing how Cathy was just as much in the wrong in the relationship as Jamie was. It\u2019s hard to tell from the album, but Cathy has major self-esteem issues. On the one hand, she wants to be defined as her own person. On the other hand, she\u2019s emotionally dependent on Jamie for validation. There are hints seen throughout the movie of this clinginess, but it\u2019s not exactly obvious.<\/p>\n Still, if you\u2019re a fan of the musical\u00a0like I am, I suggest you definitely give it a watch.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So guess whose cable provider had\u00a0The Last Five Years available on-demand? Yep, this girl\u2019s! I spent the better part of my Friday night\u00a0watching\u00a0The Last Five Years\u00a0twice. (I was given a 2-day rental and wanted to watch it as many times as possible.) I wasn\u2019t sure how they were going to do the high-concept play given […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2156,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[47,475,474,240,473],"class_list":["post-2012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-night-at-the-movies","tag-anna-kendrick","tag-jason-robert-brown","tag-jeremy-jordan","tag-movies","tag-the-last-five-years"],"yoast_head":"\n