“the last five years”

You probably haven’t heard of this movie but if you like musicals or you’re a fan of Anna Kendrick — is there anyone who isn’t? — you should see if it’s playing near you.

The Last Five Years deconstructs — in song — the relationship between wanna-be actress Cathy (Kendrick) and wanna-be writer Jamie (Jeremy Jordan) from dating to marriage to divorce. Or, in Cathy’s case, from divorce to marriage to dating.

You see, what makes the movie so interesting is that the story is told from alternating his and her perspectives, with his going in chronological order and hers going backwards. Is there any deep meaning to that? I think there is, and we’ll get to that in a minute because that structure is fascinating — along with, of course, the fact that the whole tale is sung.

The movie begins with Cathy tearfully singing about the end of the couple’s marriage. Jamie has moved on but Cathy is “still hurting.” In the next scene, Jamie is delighting in their new love, admitting, “the minute I first met you, I could barely catch my breath.”

The only time their stories come together is when they get married, and then they each continue on their own path.

Although both have aspirations of stardom, Cathy is constantly struggling to find a part while Jamie finds himself the new darling of the publishing world. This, naturally, becomes a challenge to their relationship as Cathy realizes, “I tend to follow in his stride/instead of side by side.” And that’s why, to me, she keeps going back in time as he moves ahead. He’s on a trajectory forward, and all she can do is look back and try to see where it all went wrong.

One of the most powerful lines in the movie is when Jamie finally says, “I will not lose because you can not win.” This doesn’t make him a bad guy. It just makes him real.

And it’s also what makes the story work. You can’t place the blame for their break-up on either one of them. Sometimes marriages fail simply because the two people involved just end up on different paths.

Jordan, who was nominated for a Tony Award for his role in Newsies, is appealing as Jamie but the movie belongs to Kendrick. She’s hilarious singing about “A Summer in Ohio” while doing summer stock at a regional theater, she’s easy to relate to when she tries to reassure herself and Jamie, “See, you’re laughing/I’m smiling/We’re doing fine,” and she becomes every vulnerable, insecure woman when she stresses that “I’m up every morning at six/And standing in line/With two hundred girls/Who are younger and thinner than me/Who have already been to the gym.”

It’s no wonder that the soundtrack has developed a cult-like following since the show debuted off-Broadway in 2002. It’s got tunes that will stay with you, lyrics that mean something and it’s a universal story.

And now that it’s got Anna Kendrick, well, it’s pretty much pitch perfect.