A Deep Dive Into Drake Doremus & His Brilliant Films.

Hey Guys!

This is kind of a different style of post for me, but I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time. As you guys know, I’m a huge/borderline obsessive film nerd. When I see a movie for the first time, and it makes me feel something (usually shock, awe, heart racing obsession over the Cinematography & style.. or really any range of nerding-out emotions) I immediately lurk good ol’ IMDB for the details. Once I find out everything there is to know about said movie, I will always find out who the Director is. Once I’ve found that out, I then make it a mission to track down and watch EVERYTHING they have ever touched.

I’ll never forget the first time this rabbit-hole type of hunt struck me. It was in 2011, and it was straight after I saw the trailer for the Drake Doremus film “Like Crazy” (which he wrote and directed). Ever since that moment, I’ve been so in love with his work.. and I can wholeheartedly say he is one of my all-time favorite Director’s, ever. I think he is one of the great Artists of our generation, and I will tell you why below.

I remember back in 2011, there was a lot of buzz around the Internet about this new movie “Like Crazy”. It won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, and was said to be INCREDIBLE. Drake Doremus is said to have written the film “loosely based” on his own life, and managed to shoot the whole thing over only one month, for $250,000. When the trailer hit the Internet, I was blown away by the short few minutes. It starred Felicity Jones (who was relatively an unknown Actress at that time), and the lovely Anton Yelchin (RIP. So so devastating to hear about his passing in 2016). The trailer was hauntingly set to the musical track of “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” sung by Ingrid Michaelson/ as well as mixed with a beautiful spoken-word style poem read by Felicity Jones. It honestly gives me goosebumps to even think about it, even almost ten years later. Lets just say, I was going to be FIRST in line to see this Film.

Opening Night, my Sister and I raced to the local theater. I was almost nervous to see it, after all the hype I had read leading up to it.

How to even describe it? It’s almost impossible to put into words how it made me feel, but I’ll try. From the first moments, this film managed to capture such an intimate feeling of falling in love, in a small quiet way.. that I have never seen before. The intimacy of the shots, was at once breathtaking.. while also almost intrusive. I felt like I was IN THE ROOM with these characters, and it almost felt unsettling (in the most moving way). The way this film was shot, was done so tenderly and so beautifully. I was absolutely blown away. It might have been the first time in my life, a movie made me feel so much at once. Ever since then, it has inspired me so much artistically.

My Sister and I left the theater pretty much speechless. She said she almost felt sort of uncomfortable by it, because it felt SO real. It felt like we were a part of Jacob and Anna’s love story. It was intense to say the least.

Needless to say, over the past 10 years.. I have followed Doremus’s career closely. Since “Like Crazy”, he has come out with countless STUNNING films. What I love so much about his work, is how different in subject they are.. while they all reflect the same intimate feeling. Every single one of his films, has that same close.. almost breathless feeling.

Drake Doremus is the youngest person to ever be accepted into the AFI Conservatory (Film School), and at only 37 he has received several awards. I can’t WAIT to see what he will come out with next.

I love reviewing Movies for you guys, but sometimes my favorites can get lost in the midst of my (probably way too long) blog posts 🙂 I wanted to shine a spotlight on Drake’s work, so you guys could go check out his movies. He has several films on Netflix, as well as Amazon Streaming, etc.

Instead of going on and on like a raving lunatic about how much I love each of these films, I will just attach their official “plot” blurb, to entice you into checking them out.

Let me just promise you.. every single frame, of every single film he’s made.. is stunning. If I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be “Like Crazy”, just because it was my first.

A Guide To The Drake Doremus Films

1.) “Like Crazy”

Plot Blurb (Rotten Tomatoes)

“While attending college in Los Angeles, Jacob (Anton Yelchin), an American, and Anna (Felicity Jones), who hails from London, fall madly in love. However, the young lovers are forced apart when Anna violates the terms of her visa and must return to England. Jacob and Anna discover the difficulties of maintaining a long-distance relationship in the face of their changing lives. Yet, no matter how often circumstances pull them apart, they always find themselves back together again.”

2.) “Newness”

Plot Blurb (Google)

“In Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media-driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.”

3.) “Equals”

Plot Blurb (Google)

Nia (Kristen Stewart) and Silas work together in a futuristic society known as the Collective. A seemingly utopian world, the Collective has ended crime and violence by genetically eliminating all human emotions. Despite this, Nia and Silas develop a growing attraction that leads to a forbidden and passionate romance. As suspicion begins to mount among their superiors, the couple must choose between going back to the safety of their lives or risking it all to try and pull off a daring escape.

4.) “Breathe In”

Plot Blurb (Google)

“A foreign-exchange student (Felicity Jones) jeopardizes the familial harmony of a piano teacher (Guy Pearce), his wife (Amy Ryan) and their teenage daughter (Mackenzie Davis).”

5.) “Zoe”

Plot Blurb (Google)

Two colleagues at a research lab work to improve and perfect romantic relationships.

6.) “Endings, Beginning’s”

Plot Blurb (Google/TIFF)

“An idealistic woman (Shailene Woodley) attempts to get her life on track financially and romantically, but gets caught in a love triangle with a free-spirited bad boy (Sebastian Stan) and his more stable, scholarly best friend (Jamie Dornan), in this tender exploration of love and heartbreak from Drake Doremus (Like Crazy).”