I was immediately intrigued by the previews of this film, though sadly there was no one sappy enough to drag with me, so I had to wait for Netflix.
I've seen this film twice now, and it has left me so..... not anything.
I wanted to love this film. I wanted to "be totally amazed and cry every single time I saw it because I was going to watch it everyday" love this film. But I couldn't.
I think in the end, I couldn't buy into the idea that Anna and Jacob were madly in love before they got separated. Anna was in love, sure. But Jacob? Maybe he's just reserved, but it never seemed like he was really all the way into it. And without that, the whole premise of the movie fails. He seems to really be into his next girlfriend, Sam, perhaps even more so than Anna, and so we never understand why he can't let go of Anna, because he never seemed invested in the first place.
The movie really sank or swam with Jacob. I don't know if it was the actor, who otherwise delivers a great performance, or the "script", but he was so very enigmatic that none of the rest of the movie made any sense. I never felt sold on his love for Anna, I just felt like I was willing to assume he did because Anna loved him so much. And there were definitely actions he took later on to show his love, but it seemed more of a plot twist than genuine love.
It's been said, and should be said again, that the performances were excellent. This was a first-rate cast who all have bright futures ahead of them. But without feeling committed to these two from the beginning, the rest of the movie is just, well, kind of pointless.
The film was shot showing snippets of characters' interactions with each other - Anna & Jacob with each other, each with their respective later loves - which was an interesting style and genuinely effective later on, but I think we needed to be hit over the head with Anna & Jacob at the beginning, instead of just a few cutesy scenes. But as is, you're left feeling like you can't root for these two if you don't know why you care about them (as a couple) in the first place. And that, while maybe the only flaw of the movie, was still fatal to my love for it.
I've seen this film twice now, and it has left me so..... not anything.
I wanted to love this film. I wanted to "be totally amazed and cry every single time I saw it because I was going to watch it everyday" love this film. But I couldn't.
I think in the end, I couldn't buy into the idea that Anna and Jacob were madly in love before they got separated. Anna was in love, sure. But Jacob? Maybe he's just reserved, but it never seemed like he was really all the way into it. And without that, the whole premise of the movie fails. He seems to really be into his next girlfriend, Sam, perhaps even more so than Anna, and so we never understand why he can't let go of Anna, because he never seemed invested in the first place.
The movie really sank or swam with Jacob. I don't know if it was the actor, who otherwise delivers a great performance, or the "script", but he was so very enigmatic that none of the rest of the movie made any sense. I never felt sold on his love for Anna, I just felt like I was willing to assume he did because Anna loved him so much. And there were definitely actions he took later on to show his love, but it seemed more of a plot twist than genuine love.
It's been said, and should be said again, that the performances were excellent. This was a first-rate cast who all have bright futures ahead of them. But without feeling committed to these two from the beginning, the rest of the movie is just, well, kind of pointless.
The film was shot showing snippets of characters' interactions with each other - Anna & Jacob with each other, each with their respective later loves - which was an interesting style and genuinely effective later on, but I think we needed to be hit over the head with Anna & Jacob at the beginning, instead of just a few cutesy scenes. But as is, you're left feeling like you can't root for these two if you don't know why you care about them (as a couple) in the first place. And that, while maybe the only flaw of the movie, was still fatal to my love for it.