The Last Five Years and Time

What Is The Last Five Years?

As I described in one of my first blog posts, my favorite genre of music is musicals. Amongst my favorites is The Last Five Years. The Last Five Years tells the story of the relationship between Jamie (an aspring writer) and Cathy (an aspiring actress) from when they begin to date until their divorce five years later. While I love the music of The Last Five Years, it isn't what initially enthralled me about the musical. Rather, I find the use of time very interesting.

How is Time Used?

One common technique in literature is to use a flashback/foreshadowing, as is seen in certain parts of Home Fire, specifically Parvaiz's section. However, this playing with time is generally chronological in some way. In Parvaiz's section, the story would flip back and forth between the past and present, but both proceded forward. In The Last Five Years, the story is told both forward and backwards at the same time. The musical starts with "Still Hurting," which is Cathy's song mourning her relationship. Directly afterwards is Jamie's song "Shiksa Goddess," which is set five years earlier when the pair began dating. The musical continues in this fashion, alternating Cathy's songs in reverse chronological order with Jamie's songs in chronological order, meeting in the middle when the two get married (the only song in which the characters sing together). By the end ("Goodbye until Tomorrow"), Jamie is saying goodbye to Cathy for good and Cathy is describing her delight in her new relationship with Jamie.

This usage of time is very interesting to me because I've never seen something like this before. In putting the stories in opposite directions, the audience gets a feel for how disconnected the characters were, from the beginning of their relationship to the end (an example being Cathy's excitement to move forward in their relationship in "I Can Do Better Than That" against Jamie's worries over the speed of their relationship's progression in "Moving Too Fast"). It also gives an idea of how the characters view the relationship. Jamie sees the relationship as over and done, as the musical ends with him leaving her and the two parting ways, most likely for forever. In contrast, Cathy's side of the musical ends with the phrase "goodbye until tomorrow." This demonstrates the hope that she still has for the relationship and how, despite Jamie's feelings, she believes that they can still "make it work."

While time is an often-used device in literature, The Last Five Years utilizes it in a way that I believe is fairly unqiue. It's a wonderful musical with some very great songs, and I encourage anybody interested in musicals to check it out.