Sundance Hit Like Crazy Explores Long-Distance Relationships

This year's Sundance Film Festival wrapped up yesterday, and one of the biggest hits to emerge was a romance, Like Crazy — a realistic look at a long-term, committed relationship that faces its first big hurdle when the couple has to be separated by the Atlantic Ocean. Jacob, an American, and Anna, a Brit, fall in love while at college in L.A., but when Anna's student visa expires, they have to figure out how to deal with the distance (or, as Londoners might say, how to mind the gap). The film won the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. drama, and its female star, Felicity Jones, won a special jury prize for her performance. (The director discusses the movie, based on his personal experiences, here.)

Do you guys think long-distance relationships ever work?

Do you think you have to be very young (and inexperienced) to be willing to go through the turmoil and the sacrifice they require? Or do you think you have to be older, and more jaded, thereby feeling more willing to deal with adversities if you find a good match?

My sense is that long-distance relationships are worthwhile for people, like the movie's main characters — who become pretty deeply committed to each other while living in the same place (and then are forced to part for a period) — but even the strongest couples feel the strain of the miles. I'm always skeptical when I hear about people who enter into a relationship that is long-distance from the start — when, say, a woman from Chicago starts dating a man from Boston after meeting him at a wedding — because it seems like being at such a remove from a person when you're first getting to know each other makes it difficult for real intimacy and trust to emerge. I also just feel like it would be painful, once you begin to get attached, to be so far away from the person you care about. But hey, you do what you have to do.

And I do know a couple who met each other at a wedding ... and felt an immediate connection ... and began dating when she lived in Chicago and he lived in Boston ... who eventually had a wedding of their own. They've been happily married for many years.

Anyone in a long-distance relationship or had one and can speak from experience? Would love to hear your thoughts … and if you plan to see this movie!