Like Crazy

Like Crazy is a 2011 American romantic drama film directed by Drake Doremus and starring Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, and Jennifer Lawrence. Written by Doremus and Ben York Jones, the film tells the story of Anna (Felicity Jones), a British exchange student who falls in love with an American student, Jacob (Anton Yelchin), only to be separated from him when she is denied reentry into the United States after staying in the country longer than her student visa allows. Doremus based the storyline of the film partly on his own long-distance relationship with a woman living in London while he lived in Los Angeles. Rather than writing a traditional screenplay, he and Ben York Jones compiled a 50-page outline of the film from which the actors improvised almost all of the dialogue. Filming took place over four weeks in Los Angeles and London with a budget of $250,000. Like Crazy premiered on January 22, 2011 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the festival's Grand Jury Prize. It was released in theaters on October 28, 2011 and grossed over $3.7 million at the box office. Most reviews of the film were positive, with reviewers giving particular praise to the performances of Yelchin and Jones, although some found the plot implausible and contrived. Plot Anna Gardner, a British exchange student attending college in Los Angeles, meets and falls in love with Jacob Helm, an American student who returns her affections. After graduation, Anna decides to spend the summer with Jacob rather than return to the United Kingdom, unaware of the consequences of overstaying her student visa, which expired upon her graduation. After returning to London for a family engagement, Anna flies back to Los Angeles, where she is detained, denied entry, and deported back to the United Kingdom by immigration officials.