DVD Review: Felicity Jones, Anton Yelchin Prove Young Love is ‘Like Crazy’

Submitted by BrianTT on March 8, 2012 - 2:06pm

CHICAGO – Young love isn’t just crazy, it’s also often pretty stupid. How else to explain a decision to break the law just to spend more time with the man you love? Such is the decision made by Anna (gorgeous newcomer Felicity Jones) when she sends her young love spiralling in “Like Crazy,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD. The talented young cast elevate a daring-but-often-frustrating script. Whatever problems the film may have, see it for Jones, Anton Yelchin, and Jennifer Lawrence, giving three of the best performances of their generation in 2011.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Yelchin plays Jacob, the American who falls in love with the Brit college student studying in the States. When she decides to stay past her visa to enjoy a summer of young love, their potential affair is turned upside down. She’s not allowed to return after going back to England and gets caught up in neverending red tape. Jacob and Anna are forced to try and keep their love alive over the phone and when Jacob can visit. As it does, life goes on. Jacob meets someone else. So does Anna. They become entrenched in where they are, as we all do. And Drake Doremus expertly chronicles who love doesn’t just burst or collapse but often slowly wilts or fades away when it’s not in the same space as often as it needs to be to survive.

Jones and Yelchin are spectacular but “Like Crazy” can get a bit repetitive and twee. It’s a bit too self-aware at times, eschewing realism for scenes that often feel scripted. It’s a testament to the abilities of Jones and Yelchin that they find the realism in these characters. They resonate even when the rest of the film feels false.

Like Crazy was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 6, 2012
Photo credit: Paramount

Synopsis:
Like Crazy beautifully illustrates how your first real love is as thrilling and blissful as it is fragile. When a British college student (Felicity Jones, National Board of Review Best Actress) falls for her American classmate (Anton Yelchin, Star Trek), they embark on a passionate and life-changing journey only to be separated by circumstances beyond their control. “Crazily inventive & totally irresistible” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), Like Crazy explores how a couple faces the real challenges of being together and of being apart.

Special Features:
o Commentary by Director Drake Doremus, Editor Jonathan Alberts, and Cinematographer John Gulesarian

“Like Crazy” stars Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, and Jennifer Lawrence. It was written and directed by Drake Doremus. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 6th, 2012.