The Last 5 Years 2014

Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press: Don't be surprised if, settling into "The Last Five Years" with your popcorn, you hear a large number of people around you singing rather than crunching. Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: It's bland, earnest, and receptive, and in order to capture it, the director Richard LaGravenese thinks he needs more crane shots than Citizen Kane. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Kendrick does the dramatic heavy lifting here as a woman struggling to break free from her husband's large shadow and find her destiny. She nails the comedy as well ... Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: It's easy to fall in love with Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan in this heart-breaking musical two-hander, as they retrace a love affair from opposite ends. Read more

Jesse Hassenger, AV Club: Kendrick sings her heart out and also proves a great reactor, managing to steal a couple of scenes from Jordan even when he's the one singing. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Jordan comes out of this movie respectably, while Kendrick comes out of it a star. In fact, she's potentially the first great movie musical star of her generation. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: Kendrick and Jordan seem too squeaky-clean to convey the full weight of the characters' psychological baggage, yet LaGravenese's balanced, unpretentious direction allows the material to resonate all the same. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: As far as I'm concerned, Anna Kendrick can make a musical twice annually for the next few decades. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: There must have been some spark of inspiration that made director Richard LaGravenese believe this hermetic construct might benefit from the larger breathing space of screen treatment. But it doesn't. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: If you're not going to break out of the box when you move mediums with a musical, it is critical to use the box very, very well. Unfortunately, "The Last Five Years" does neither. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The songs are smart and "Company"-era Sondheimesque, courtesy of composer Jason Robert Brown, and director Richard LaGravenese has done a stylish, fast-paced job. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: Kendrick qualifies as the movie's secret weapon - actually not so secret now that she's charmed audiences in both 'Into the Woods' and 'Pitch Perfect.' Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Stars Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan are earnest and often appealing in "The Last Five Years," even if the musical romance never completely finds its footing. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: Songs that tell their story from both their points of view are among the smartest show tunes this side of Stephen Sondheim. Read more

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: It doesn't help that the songs, while solid, become repetitive in melody. And there's not a home run in the bunch. I walked out humming ... nothing from this movie. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The sublime Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan work miracles, giving glorious voice to their roles, making it easy to overlook the failings in The Last Five Years. Let it in and it knocks you back on your heels. Just like love. Read more

Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic: The unbalanced nature of the adaptation makes for a basically unsatisfying experience (Jamie, a jerk, gets his way with everything, and Cathy, a sweetheart, doesn't), but there are moments of real delight in the movie ... Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: This bare-bones adaptation is more of a sop to the musical's fans than a fully imagined movie musical. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: Musical theatre fans will rejoice but those not fond of production numbers as problem solvers will wonder what all the fuss is about. Read more

Inkoo Kang, TheWrap: "The film is the least enjoyable among [Kendrick's musical] efforts, its considerable ambitions undermined by charmless songs and a frustratingly cursory love story." Read more

Cath Clarke, Time Out: Anna Kendrick, of all-round-awesome fame, is singing again in this adaptation of an off-Broadway musical. Read more

Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice: From moment to moment, this Last Five Years is a robust entertainment, often stirring, sad, and funny. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: The camera moves with heightened sensitivity, as if on currents of emotion, and Kendrick is infinitely winning. She's that rare thing, a movie star with a trained soprano. Read more

Jesse Green, New York Magazine/Vulture: How delicious that one of the best movie musicals in years -- and one of the best musical adaptations ever -- concedes that the job is almost too tough to do. Read more

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: A very funny, deeply affecting portrait of love lost and found. Read more