A different way of telling a story

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Based on a 2001 Off-Broadway musical of the same name, "The Last Five Years" is, as its name implies, about a relationship between a couple who has their highs and lows. Weaving between the past and present this story follows the exploits of a novelist (Jordan) and would-be Broadway dancer (Kendrick) as they try to balance their professional exploits with their personal lives. Even at its happiest there's something offsetting and strange about their contented composure, and so most of this film is a depressing thrall (in a good way).Kendrick is flawless, as has been demonstrated many times before ("Pitch Perfect," "Into the Woods," etc.). Her paramour is played by Jeremy Jordan, who has a background on Broadway as well. Both have the voices for this film, and the music is full of sarcastic fits of belting, but also an aching hurt, demonstrated well in early 00's musical theater. The plot sometimes makes it difficult for the songs to have an emotional impact because there's not always a clear build. The first scene is the end of their relationship, which has an amazing performance from Kendrick, and a great song, but it isn't exactly clear how we as the audience should feel. The ending doesn't really clear this up either, which is the start of everything. It seems like these two were always doomed.While I liked most of this film, I didn't see much chemistry between the two leads. Most of the film they're apart either due to their work, the constraints of the novelist's fame, or the actress taking a job in Ohio. The only scene where they truly connect is "The Schmuel Song" which is a nonsensical, annoying footnote in the discography for this film. Though I found the depressing nature of the plot engrossing, the plot was uneven throughout and therefore this film is obviously flawed.

I'm giving this a 10 to try to counteract the ratings of most of these reviews. It isn't a standalone movie, and shouldn't be rated as such. It is an adaptation of the stage production almost exactly, and a pretty passable one at that: pretty cinematography, decent performances, and a good reading of the source material. Jeremy's voice is great for the part, and Anna Kendrick is...okay. My actual rating is more like an 8 (because the stage productions I have seen have been more moving, and this one does kind of make it good vs. bad, as opposed to two flawed people breaking). It is a weird film, yes, but not a bad stage production.

I went to see The Last Five Years after watching most of Anna Kendrick's work in a short amount of time, and as an admirer of her work, it was just not enough for me. The Last Five Years was exactly what I wanted Kendrick to be thrown in, and her performance just blew my mind. It explores a lot of characters emotion, and Kendrick is always in the edge of it, we can see her clearly passing through all this emotions written on her face because it is always intense. The actress is the highlight of the movie and she is so good she brings up one of the movie flaws: Jeremy Jordan's performance,even though being good,it was not good enough and he was shadowed by Kendrick and, because of that, it's easily to sympathize with her character rather than Jeremy's one. I simply adore the movie, and even though I found myself slightly lost and confused at some point I love the time concept of how it is told, I love the songs and I love the visual of it and how the colors change light to dark and dark to light. It is not a movie for everyone but I would definitely recommend it. It is a sweet, yet heartbreaking, story easy to relate with.

I wasn't sure what to think of a movie that was entirely sung - the only other experience I have had with this kind of musical was Les Miserables so the bar was set pretty high... Some musicals can be hard to follow or get so engrossed in the music that it loses sight of it's original concept - this is not one of those movies. The Last Five years is, in a word, beautiful. There is no other way to describe it. The simultaneous portrayal of the beginning and ending of a relationship was seamless and unique. The jumps through time are well executed. The emotions portrayed by Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan are so genuine that you can not only see and hear their emotions, but you can feel them too. The music was humerus, dejected, jovial, wistful, exciting, heavyhearted, and hopeful - everything one would expect from a musical, but the transition between emotions is so beautifully genuine. I would happily recommend this movie to anyone that wants to laugh and cry at the same time. Thank you for existing.