The Last Five Years - DVD review

Directed by Richard LaGravenese, 2014

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This sung-through love story about an egotistical writer (Jeremy Jordan) and a failing actress (Anna Kendrick) is doomed from the start, at least for her: it tells the romance in reverse from her perspective but chronologically from his.

Adapting his own hit play, director Richard LaGravenese circles closely as the pair hurtle towards marital discord. Spoken dialogue is kept to a bare minimum, meaning the relentless score of shrill Broadway-style numbers may cause even those who enjoy musicals to reach for the paracetamol.

But there is joy to be found here, too: clever lyrics, playfully adapted from the stage show, and Kendrick's nuanced performance charting varying degrees of heartache.

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