like crazy - a movie review

Yes, I always have this thing for movie with open ending or rather sad ending. A friend suggested me to watch this 2011's movie "Like Crazy". He said, if I like Before Sunrise/Before Sunset so much, I would definitely like this. Except I don't. At all.

So I rented this movie (along with Gilmore Girls - which remind me so much of high school and my mom, oh I always enjoy watching this). I don't understand the movie premise. Again, at all. Okay, perhaps I am a little biased - based on the fact that, yes, I had a relationship before that moved to a kind of long-distance relationship type, which then didn't work out. So that added my expectation to what this movie all about. But, I must say it didn't live up to my expectation. 

Good thing or I think it's more appropriate for me to say, "the things I like about the film": its camera and editing work, or its visual presentation. It used Canon EOS 7D - an inexpensive camera to be used for a movie production, albeit a low-budget one. It - if not mistaken - was done handheld, mostly. And I think, it's sort of beautiful.

Another thing I like about the movie is the music. In my opinion, it keeps me from wanting to eject the disc and just work on my dissertation or sleep. Well, of course, beside the camera work. The fact that the other guy looks gorgeous is also a plus point - Oh I remember his name now, it's Simon.

Okay, now - about the storyline. I'll sum it up to whoever bother to read this post. 

Anna and Jacob first meet on (what seem to be) the final year of college somewhere in LA. She is a bright and beautiful exchange student from UK. He is a student of furniture design. She falls in love during their first meeting (in a class, when she delivers her paper on Myspace -- or so I think). And they share a beautiful year of courtship (which is delivered with a little glimpse of this and that of their activities together). However, after graduation, she is supposed to return to UK before coming again after summer as her parents approve. So things would not get too complicated. Alas, these two love birds decide it'd be better if she just spends a blissful summer (in bed - literally) together in LA - resulting in Anna overstaying her visa. Thus, putting their latter lives on hold.

So, that's it. No, I was wrong. It wasn't all. It was only around 15 minutes or so of the movie. So I thought here comes the conflict. It sort of did. Although they're madly in love with each other, Anna couldn't return after seven days of separation to US. She's held in custom, not being allowed to pass through. Too bad because Jacob comes that day to bring flowers for her. So, they began to move on, feeling a void in their lives. Meeting each other again - this time in London. Separating again. And then moving on again with different partners (Simon and Sam). The movie ends with them together, they're married, Anna is lifted from the ban in her visa - finally. However, their relationship is not exactly the same with how they started.

And that's it.

You're supposed to imagine how they end up, either together or not. I say no --- well it doesn't matter what I think about the end of the relationship of the two main leads. The thing is I don't understand. I can't see why Anna thinks Jacob is the only one person she feels as the one. Either because the story did not provide that to convince me or the main leads do not have good chemistry. They don't speak enough to make me understand that it's there - except that young love nature going on between the two. Well, it's not that I don't like watching movie with less dialogue (some of my fave movies are Il Mare and Three Iron). However, this one is just not for me. So, how it ends with both feels so awkward despite being together comes very natural to me. It doesn't come with a long winding realization. And yes, the lead female character is annoying enough to make me cringe. Possibly, it proves that she acted her part well?

Moral of the story is: don't overstay your visa! :)

oh it's so coincident, these past couple days, I've been thinking so much about visa.