Like Crazy

Just because two on-screen characters are in love with one another doesn’t necessarily mean the audience will care about their relationship.

The characters in question need to develop an emotional connection with the audience separately as well as together. That’s where Like Crazy starts to stumble.

Still, the intercontinental coming-of-age romance has enough charm and heartfelt charisma to mark filmmaker Drake Doremus as a name to watch, and sharp performances to help smooth out some of the rough edges.

British poet Anna (Felicity Jones) is an exchange student attending college in California, where she falls for Jacob (Anton Yelchin), who is preparing for a career in furniture design. Their romance is interrupted, however, when Anna’s visa expires and she is forced to return to England by the United States government.

That forces the couple apart physically, and eventually they drift apart psychologically as well, with the phone calls less frequent and the commitment level less certain. Yet neither Anna nor Jacob can shake their passion for one another, and wonder if they will ever be able to reunite.

Yelchin (Fright Night) has been a young actor on the rise for several years, but Jones (Chalet Girl) is a relative newcomer for most moviegoers. The pair has a convincing chemistry, even if their individual characters seem self-involved. Having Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) on board as Jacob’s American girlfriend only helps matters.

The modest film obviously is a personal work for 28-year-old Doremus, who co-wrote the script with Ben York Jones. Working with a low budget, he has crafted a portrait of contemporary young love that is earnest but also raw and honest.

Before anyone starts getting too fired up about any movie that deals with immigration, Like Crazy doesn’t touch on anything too controversial. Doremus avoids taking a stance because he realizes that isn’t really the point. The bureaucratic red tape that Jacob and Anna face is more of a plot device than anything.

The pace is breezy (thanks in part to some overly aggressive editing), even if the film’s will-they-or-won’t-they structure becomes tedious.

While it’s practically love at first sight for the two leads, they might take a little longer to collectively earn the audience’s affections. But they eventually manage to generate a few smiles and tears.

Rated PG-13, 89 minutes.