The Last Five Years: Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
Based on the hit musical by Jason Robert Brown, a struggling actress (Anna Kendrick) and her novelist boyfriend (Jeremy Jordan) recount the rise and fall of their 5 year love affair.
I can say that I did not know to any degree that this was a musical. I purposely strayed from reading anything about the film at all. Great thing is that I LOVE musicals. Yes, I know that sounds weird coming from me but I’ve always enjoyed song and dance numbers (only if they’re good). So this film pretty much spells it out to you in the first 5 minutes or so setting you up to know that this isn’t going to be a fairytale story. What we end up with is a very honest and real look at the beginning of a relationship all the way through the heartbreaking end. Even with me knowing that the story wouldn’t be all hearts and roses all I kept expecting was for the story to turn around and be happy but that’s not really the reality of a problematic marriage. Kendrick and Jordan were fantastic in their performances. I was already aware of Kendrick being in musical roles so it was no surprise to me how fantastic she was but Jordan was the one that caught me pleasantly by surprise. They were both able to put forth so many emotions as well as putting on musical numbers at the same time which I would think would take a lot out of an actor but they did it so well. The chemistry between the two is undeniable and really adds to the storytelling. It makes you become involved in their story immensely. I really liked this film a lot mainly because of the honesty of it all and the sadness that comes with it. I think everyone can relate to a story like this in some way, shape or form and because of that I recommend checking it out. 9/10
Special Features:
Sing-Along Subtitles
A Conversation with Composer/Lyricist Jason Robert Brown – He talks a bit about what he wanted to accomplish with this story and how picking the perfect actors was essential to bringing this story to life.
