Daniela Coe-McNamara
Staff Writer
With the majority of the film belted out in song, “The Last Five Years” is a charming musical that tells the good, the bad and the ugly of modern relationships today.
“The Last Five Years” shows the raw emotions involved in love and marriage between two young people, Cathy and Jamie, as it uses little vignettes to show the history of the last five years of their relationship. This film utilizes music to portray the heartwarming and heartbreaking moments involved in a long relationship, while also paralleling the similar emotions of many moments throughout the relationship by showing different moments in time in a seemingly random, yet meaningful, order.
“The Last Five Years,” originally written as a musical by Jason Brown, uses heartfelt lyrics in every musical number to illustrate the trials and tribulations of the demise of a wonderful five year relationship between a young man and woman. The film, though out of order chronologically, shows the beginning, middle, and end of love between Cathy (Anna Kendrick) and Jamie (Jeremy Jordan) as they learn about each other and face temptations, unemployment, and other outside forces that flirt with the suffering at the end of a relationship.
Throughout the film, the incredibly musically gifted actors use song to express their feelings and desires. The lyrics of the songs themselves add an element of nostalgia, as the songs were written after Jason Roberts’ own divorce, making the emotions completely raw and genuine. The agony drawn out during these musical numbers wrenches the hearts of many as Kendrick sings a cheerful ballad as she bids farewell after her first date with Jamie, while Jamie, believing they are over forever, five years later, sings a tragic goodbye song to his ex-wife. The contrasting duet demonstrates the complete spectrum of emotions that come with any love. The film’s incredibly sincere and calamitous lyrics allow anyone who has experienced a relationship and sorrow to relate to the on-screen heart wrenching breakup of two young lovers.
“The Last Five Years” is certainly unique in its time sequence, as the film shows some moments from the end of the relationship at the beginning of the film, and vice versa. One especially poignant pairing of scenes is the last scene, as Cathy sings “Goodbye Until Tomorrow” after their first date, excited about the myriad of possibilities awaiting her with this bright young man she begins to fall in love with. Simultaneously, Jamie, five years later, is singing “Goodbye” to Cathy, as their relationship is now over and they are both alone and heartbroken. The pairing of one of the first and last moments of their relationship is artfully chosen by director Richard LaGravenese, as he illustrates the good and the bad of every moment in a relationship, from beginning to end.
“The Last Five Years” is a wonderful musical film, with bitterly sincere lyrics about the tribulations in a relationship as two young people fall in and out of love. Using the nonlinear plot scenes to show the pieces of memories that everyone reflects on after a relationship, this film is a genuine demonstration of modern relationships today.
Shown at Sundance Cinemas West Hollywood and Laemmle Playhouse 7, “The Last Five Years” is a genuine film that demonstrates the anguish of modern relationships and their demise.
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