Can a movie-musical feel so compelling and so complicated at the same time? It can when it features Anna Kendrick. Based off a musical written by Jason Robert Brown, The Last Five Years tells the story of a five-year relationship of Jamie Wellerstein (Jeremy Jordan) and Cathy Hiatt (Kendrick). Both sides of the story are told, with Cathy's going from end to beginning and Jamie's going from beginning to end. The movie's script is nearly filled up with songs, and only few breaks for dialogue take place. Sometimes, the songs are extremely corny and redundant, but they do fit into the story. The main thing about this film is that it feels more like a musical than a movie, which can be its biggest downside. However, there have been musical adaptations that got away with that method before, and this use long tracking shots to make it all fair game. The best way to appreciate this film is to have seen a prior production of The Last Five Years or to have seen your fair share of good movie-musicals already. If not, then you'll probably have a hard time watching this movie. However, Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan are a perfect combination to have sell this movie, and with the compelling approaches that The Last Five Years takes, it's a movie-musical that does justice to the source material.
Score: 84/100
Recommendation: Movie-musical buffs and fans of Anna Kendrick.