"Like Crazy" writer-director Drake Doremus took a gamble casting relative unknown Felicity Jones as the lead in his romantic drama, based solely on an audition tape the actress made in her London flat—a gamble that is paying off in spades. The indie, about a young couple torn apart after she overstays her visa and is deported, won the Grand Jury Prize for best film at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, and the trailer debuted online yesterday to much deserved buzz.
Drake Doremus is having one of those moments that indie filmmakers dream of, and if anyone deserves it this year, he does.
The first time I heard his name was when I saw his film "Douchebag" at Sundance in 2010. I enjoyed it, but it felt like one of those movies you see on the festival circuit and know will never end up playing theaters near 99% of your readership. This year, I saw his new film "Like Crazy" at Sundance, and it floored me. As much as I liked his earlier film, I wasn't ready for "Like Crazy." It's a beautiful, incredibly well-performed piece that works because of how bluntly honest it is, how carefully it avoids cliche. I found it to be almost as powerful a punch as last year's "Blue Valentine," and in particular, it is an amazing showcase for Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones, the two young stars of the movie.
We’ve been excited about the film Like Crazy since we heard it won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize. Okay, the brilliant, gorgeous cast doesn’t hurt either (Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, and Charlie Bewley). The film tells the story of Jacob, an American, and Anna, a Brit, who meet and fall in love during their senior year of college and the challenges they face when Anna is banned from the U.S. for overstaying her visa. We saw a sneak peek of the film, which comes out October 28, and it was every bit as beautiful and complicated as we’d hoped.
We had the pleasure of talking with Drake Doremus, the film’s young writer and director, about the film, his
One big problem with Hollywood “true-love” stories is there’s often very little “truth” in them.
Then along comes a movie like Like Crazy — an indie, not a studio picture — where the relationship is allowed to be so real, so subtle, and so heartfelt that it almost feels voyeuristic. Like a love note you find, and probably shouldn’t read, but …
That was the experience many had at Sundance watching writer-director Drake Doremus’ film at Sundance this year, about two star-crossed lovers (Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones) who fall intensely for each other in college only to find themselves separated by a continent and an ocean, but bound — hopefully — by something stronger.
