Love conquers all, even traffic laws.
Fresh off its triumphant debut at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was bought by TWC-Radius before it even premiered, “The Last Five Years” now begins its marketing campaign. Luckily, that won’t be too hard for the Richard Lagravenese-directed film, since it’s a musical starring fan favorite Anna Kendrick and up-and-comer dreamboat Jeremy Jordan (“Smash,” “Newsies”).
Also read: Why Anna Kendrick Is Done With Musicals: ‘Singing Is F-cking Hard’
Of course, it’s not exactly as happy a tale as the video below suggests.
As TheWrap reported in February after seeing the film, “Years” is a non-linear story that follows the phases of a young couple’s doomed relationship like a double-ended stick of dynamite burning inward, with the blissful early days of their love colliding with a flame that begins at their separation.
Yup, not all that happy.
See video: Anna Kendrick Gets Drunk, Laid in ‘Happy Christmas’ Trailer
Jealousy, arrogance and infidelity tear Cathy (a struggling actress) and Jamie (a rising novelist) apart, marking it as an important beginning in millennial pop culture’s exploration of divorce. The film holds onto the stage musical’s trading of colliding timelines, but unlike the original production, which alternated solos, this version features both actors in nearly every scene.
It was an exhausting experience for Kendrick, who told TheWrap back in February that she was probably done with musicals after this and the upcoming Disney film “Into the Woods,” which comes out on Christmas.
“I never want to sing again, honestly. It’s hard as f-ck,” said the actress, who starred on Broadway as a 12-year-old. “The ‘Pitch Perfect’ [sequel] is going to be fine — 10 girls have to be able to sing the songs so it’s going to be fine — but doing ‘The Last Five Years’ and then ‘Into the Woods’ straight away, I was like, I don’t want to have to think about my voice so much. I want to be able to drink beer whenever I want.”