Rent Like Crazy (2011)

Like Crazy review by Alyse Garner - Cinema Paradiso

A young English girl chooses to remain in America after her visa has expired after falling in love with an American; the couple’s relationship is put to the test when she is deported and they attempt to continue their romance from both sides of the Atlantic.

Felicity Jones plays Anna, an English student visiting America who begins a relationship with fellow student and American native Jacob (Anton Yelchin) when the summer term ends however Anna decides to stay in America rather than returning home for a few months to save money for a second trip. What follows is not, as I expected, a story of a couple’s attempt to overcome the visa authorities and stay together in America, but rather a far more honest and believable story of the way in which this decision, fuelled by young love and passion, affects both Anna and Jacob for the rest of the their lives.

Upon returning home Anna begins to become entangled with a neighbour, whilst Jacob finds himself pursued by a work colleague; the couple find themselves tormented by their commitment to one another, their impulsive desires and the heart-deep fear that there is no way of knowing whether staying together or being apart is the right choice.

I was very pleasantly surprised by Like Crazy Jones is a pleasing casting choice and the more I see of Yelchin the more I find myself warming to him, here the two characters – although having that inevitably forced quirkiness that passes for personality in all modern 90 minute romances – have a realism that is very intriguing, you find yourself mutually upset and unsure about the choices they make, wondering how you yourself would react faced with the possibilities of finding “the One” verse settling for the one that’s actually nearby.

All in all a surprisingly impressive and emotive movie with all the charm of the indie-romance genre.