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HOORAY FOR 1933—EIGHTY YEARS LATERLike Crazy—movie review
There seems to be no artifice in their performances; it’s as if we’re peeking through a window and observing a guileless, likable young couple, up close, as they experience the first flush of love, then suffer the anguish of physical separation and emotional distance. The actors’ work is appealing and beautifully nuanced; no wonder Jones won a Special Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The film itself won—
—the Grand Jury Prize.
I was impressed with Doremus’ last film, the improbably titled Douchebag, which despite a shoestring budget managed to convey a sometimes-startling intimacy and firmly establish its quirky, original characters. (Its costar, Ben York Jones, appears briefly in Like Crazy and also shares screenplay credit with Doremus, although the actors improvised all of their dialogue.) This film is a bit more polished, but retains the naturalness of the earlier picture and the naked honesty of its characters’ emotions.
The seeming spontaneity of Like Crazy belies the filmmaker’s canny editing, careful choice of camera placement, color schemes, and structural underpinnings. All of this perfectly complements the actors’ striking and believable characterizations. That applies to the supporting cast, as well, which includes Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Finola Hughes, and Alex Kingston and Oliver Muirhead as Jones’s sympathetic parents. The pinpoint precision of their work, in just a handful of scenes, achieves more than most actors can with reams of dialogue.
Like Crazy is invigorating entertainment, and Drake Doremus is an exemplar of independent filmmaking. He’s already working on his next feature, and I can’t wait to see it.
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6 Comments
Deeper Into Movies | December 12, 2011 12:52 PM
As wispy as cigarette smoke in a cyclone, Like Crazy might be likened to a precious, humorless When Harry Met Sally. This surprise Sundance award winner is a little romance, and a lot of heartbreak.
Audiences might be mad about Felicity Jones after her radiant breakthrough as Anna, a young Brit attending college in Los Angeles. While Drake Doremusâ film falls short on classy luster, Jones may have graduated to stardom....
(entire review at deepintomovies.blogspot.com)
Hal | October 31, 2011 4:51 AM
I read that Doremus improvs the whole script. Lets see what happens when he enters "conventional" filmmaking, with bigger actors, bigger budgets, and bigger stakes.
mike schlesinger | October 30, 2011 6:28 AM
Norm, why do you even bother going to the movies? You clearly detest everything you see--and more to the point, don't see--and apparently believe the entire industry is made up of long-haired, dope-smoking, liberal elitists trying to destroy America. Your ad hominem negativity has grown tiresome, especially on a site run by someone as passionate about movies as Leonard.
Ron r | October 30, 2011 5:51 AM
Wow you guys sound are so angry.
Excellent review by the way.
Douche | October 30, 2011 4:14 AM
Douchebag was over-rated garbage and no one gave a shit.
Norm | October 29, 2011 11:27 AM
Hollywood has their own agenda, promote freakish relationships. Why give creedence that men and women should have functional ones. The dopehaeds at WG, have distorted the reality of what marriage is all about. One day they will be able to marry their cats and dogs, I can't wait for that film...Happy Days...