Like Crazy

College students Jacob and Anna meet cute on a Los Angeles campus and fall madly in love. She’s a Brit with spritely ways and he’s a local kid who’s seriously into furniture design. After graduation, Anna (Felicity Jones) stays on for the summer in Los Angeles even though her visa is expiring, and later when she tries to return to Jacob (Anton Yelchin) in the U.S., the Immigration Service sends her back to Britain. The subsequent long-distance romance soon produces a marriage (in England), but then the two are separated again when Jacob returns home. The recurring separations are marked by intermittent romances on the side, but the “crazy” attraction they feel for each other always cycles back, until …. The story sounds familiar and routine, but writer-director Drake Doremus and the two young stars breathe fresh life and emotional zest into it. The story proceeds very briskly, steering clear of stock emotional scenes and dwelling instead on nicely nuanced moments of intimacy in the various stages of the couple’s emotional lives. Jones’ feisty exuberance as Anna is the main spark, for the relationship and for the film itself, and Yelchin’s offbeat charm makes him a credible partner. Pageant Theatre. Rated PG-13