We may live here in a series of powerful and diverse events about Jimmy Wellerstein (Jordan), a young, talented and talented novelist who falls in love with Kathy Hayat (Kendrick), an ambitious actress who is still struggling for fame. In this film, their entire story is recounted through the song they have collected. All Cathy songs start at the end of their marriage and move back to the beginning of their love affair. Perhaps on the other hand, Jamie's songs start at the beginning of their relationship and that story turns to the end of a marriage in a story that has caused a stir.
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.
Todd VanDerWerff
Vox
December 17, 2015
LaGravenese doesn't seem to have a particular vision for how to shoot or tell this particular story, so he just aims for the most straightforward method possible most of the time, and that ultimately cripples the film in ways it can't recover from.
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.
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 ...
