(500) Days of Summer Reviews

''What happens when you fall in love?''

An offbeat romantic comedy about a woman who doesn't believe true love exists, and the young man who falls for her.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt: Tom Hansen

Zooey Deschanel: Summer Finn

Love. Time. Memories. (500)Days of Summer explores deep possibilities and these timeless issues and questions involving these three melodies of emotion. It sort of comes across as a distantly related Groundhog Day meets Magnolia mixed with a shot of Memento time line scrambling.
It should also be initially stated that the film is extremely well-made, despite its crew being composed mostly of first-timers. Marc Webb; The debut first time film director has years of music video and commercial experience to his credit, which explains the level of success and achievement he has achieved here.



(500)Days of Summer is an Indie film yes but without feeling as such; It's wonderfully shot and professionally made, and I think that just adds to its genuineness. The film features many elements that distinguish it from just a standardised churned out rom-com telling the same story: split-screen, frequent breaking of the fourth wall, a spontaneous song-and-dance number, animation, and of course the non-linear storytelling (with a number on screen indicating the position of the scene portrayed out of the retrospective 500 days) these elements lend this film much of its acquired uniqueness.
It also manages to pay homage to numerous classics such as Star Wars, The Seventh Seal, and even series Knight Rider.

Ultimately, what makes this film special is its wonderfully fleshed out characters. A good, plot-induced, fleshed out real people will always be more interesting than a great story with uninspiring ones.
This film succeeds more than most others in defining and presenting real, grounded, three-dimensional and identifiable characters.
First-time screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber give life and exquisitely define these characters, and of course alot of credit lies with the actors for embodying them and breathing upon them charisma and believability into the characters in every frame. I have been a long-time fan of both of the leads, especially of Joseph Gordon-Levitt whom over the years, be it in Mysterious Skin or in enigmatic Brick has carved himself a grand place as one of the most interesting and consistent young actors of his generation. Zooey Deschanel has always been wonderful, from her small supporting roles in older films such as Almost Famous to her more recent status as a leading lady, but this is the first movie of hers I've seen that really gives her a chance to shine and portray a fascinating and full functional character. Both acting talents really electrify proceedings in the film, and the supporting cast does a great job at helping them along.

(500)Days of Summer is ultimately whimsical, but never condescendingly precious. It's stylized but never unrealistic. It's very small-scale but it never feels tacky. Eventually, what makes it work so well as a film is the fact that it takes a very simple story and situation, drawn from real life, and portrays it in a way that is real enough to keep our interest, but realistic enough to resonate and stay true to life. It's a film that doesn't reach for the stars, doesn't feature a meaningful plot or story and doesn't convey some big message; rather, it's a film built on moments, beautiful and wonderful flickers that make it so unique and genuinely special: the narration, the song-and-dance number, Summer's glances at Tom and her reactions to his behaviour, the dialogue, the two lead performances, the genuinely hilarious moments and jokes, the music, the Belle and Sebastian and Smiths references, the non-linear chronology, the split-screen sequence showing Tom's "expectations" on one side and the "reality" as it actually unfolds on the other; These moments just overly succeed in capturing exactly what the real life situations they depict feel like, such as the aforementioned bar exterior, or the encounter on the train. It's one of those stories and experiences that stay and linger with you, that you need to watch again and again, to make that journey with the characters just one more time, to get to know them even more, and to look into their lives and see so much of your own. This is so real to life that it's hard to believe it's been captured and frozen upon film. (500)Days of Summer is a masterpiece of writing, of film and of translating the turmoil of love and loss.

''This is not a love story...This is a story about love.''

Tom meets Summer the day she begins working at the same office he works in. Tom writes greeting cards and automatically takes a liking to Summer. He thinks she is the one for him, and he tries his hardest to make her notice him. Eventually they end up talking and things begin to bloom from there. The only problem is Tom and Summer don’t want the same things. Tom wants a commitment and Summer doesn’t believe in true love.

Summer: You weren't wrong, Tom. You were just wrong about me.


Tom is shy he keeps to himself, he believes that one day he will find the girl of his dreams. Everyone wants to believe this and Tom sees his true love in Summer. Tom tries to win over Summer but he just can’t seem to crack her. She is dead set against love and Tom struggles to try and get her to let down her defences and fall in love. Joseph Gordon Levitt was perfect, Tom was quirky fun and a hopeless romantic. Levitt was Oscar worthy, all though he wont get it the performance was far better than many that have or will win Oscars. Yes I said Gordon Levitt is a big time actor, give him some credit here, this film was real, the struggles were real. Tom was exactly like someone we all know and had a little bit of each of us in him. That is why this film was so perfect and felt so authentic.

Tom and Summer built something from nothing, and when it all came crashing down it was painful, Tom was so saddened, and Summer was just so able to keep going. She toyed with Tom after that, which was the saddest part of the entire film. Summer and Tom became another broken down relationship, another star for the books, but Tom had real feelings and his heartbreak just wouldn’t go away. Anyone who has ever felt rejection the sting of break up felt Toms pain.

Tom: I love her smile. I love her hair. I love her knees. I love how she licks her lips before she talks. I love her heart-shaped birthmark on her neck. I love it when she sleeps


But really what impressed me most, and I don’t want to be sexist here, is that the man had the feelings for the woman. Usually it is the man who doesn’t have the correct feelings, but it was good to see a role reversal and see a film where Men aren’t the targets of aggression. Summer hurt Tom, and it was to see that in a film. Films often tend to forget that men can have real feelings. Films often paint men as emotionless cold beings. I’m not saying Summer was emotionless and cold, but the complete opposite. She had strong emotions and she hurt Tom. Ultimately what I am saying is that this film was different from what I usually see. The man had his heart broken and couldn’t move forward. It just shows that men can have honest feelings too. I know I am rambling, I just don’t see a film of this nature very often.

Narrator: Most days of the year are unremarkable. They begin, and they end, with no lasting memories made in between. Most days have no impact on the course of a life. May 23rd was a Wednesday.



Easily going to find its way onto my faves list. Why? The story was rich with emotion, the characters were people I felt I knew, and the cast doesn’t have their faces painted all over bill boards, they didn’t have world class good looks, they looked average. From Levitt to Deschanel to Gubler to Arend, you felt for these people because the glamour of being a world famous star wasnt a part of this film. The perfect cast, easily better then a cast that would include Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep, Will Smith or any famous person. This cast was perfect because they needed to be. Hands down this film relied on its cast like any other film, but unlike many films featuring big actors, the cast needed to be good for this film to be considered good. Not a member of this cast let me down. I enjoyed what this young and energetic cast brought to the table.

I focused on the dramatic aspect of the film, but it was the mixture of comedy and hope along with heartbreak and rejection that made this film was perfect. I felt a whirlwind of emotions, I felt jolted when Tom and Summer felt pain. I felt sympathy for Tom. I felt like a friend needed my help. I felt like I understood Summers reasoning. That is why I loved this film. I loved it for its honesty, for the character driven plot.

I didn't really know what to expect going into this film because it seemed like a very beautiful romantic comedy and I had not seen anything from the director or the actors within the film. It is a very beautiful film to watch because of young people and love itself and how it affects people's lives but at the same time, it does get psychologically tense when regarding the heartbreak that Tom goes through within the film.


Joseph Gordon-Levitt's performance as Tom Hansen was good. What I think was slightly flawed about his performance is he didn't always act like he's absolutely in love with Summer, just acts like a drooling puppy towards her and that did get a bit annoying at times during the film. I don't know whether it is just me but he looks just like the late and great Heath Ledger. Zooey Deschanel's performance as Summer Finn was really brilliant!! Summer is a young woman who works with Tom. She is the assistant of Tom's boss and is Tom's love interest. Tom falls in love with her and starts to have high hopes to begin a relationship with her but things keep changing around between the two and it gradually either gets better or worse. There are a lot of eventful twists and turns in this film which is what I like the most about films in general. I can guarantee her performance is worthy of a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress Musical/Comedy if not a win for her extraordinary and awesome performance!


Overall, (500) Days Of Summer is a romantic-comedy that isn't precisely as awesome as I was expecting but it was still very enjoyable. Marc Webb goes off to a flying start with a great debut! Not one of the best of 2009 but isn't that far off.

Mark Waters, que depois de dirigir pérolas como “Cinco Evas E Um Adão”, fracasso com Freddie Prinze Jr, e os cafonérrimos: remake de Freak Friday e Mean Girls com Lindsay Lohan, procurou refinar-se no gênero das comédias romanticas e também em seu casting, diga-se de passagem, obtendo sucesso com “Just Like Heaven” com Reese Witherspoon e Mark Ruffalo e “Minhas adoráveis ex Namoradas” Matthew McConaughey. E com toda essa bagagem apostou na produção de “500 Dias com Ela” que é o début do diretor Marc Webb em longa metragens.

Webb é conhecido por seu trabalho como diretor musical, assina, por exemplo, dvds do Green Day, 3 Doors Down e tantas outras bandas que vão de Santana a My Chemical Romance, e este é o know-how que traz para o filme: uma trilha sonora recheada de artista cultuados como: Regina Spektor, The Smiths, Feist, The Clash, Doves, She&Him, Wolfmother, a primeira dama francesa Carla Bruni e até “She’s like the wind” de Patrick Swayze .

“500 Dias com Ela” conta a história de Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt), que atraves de flashbacks e flashfowards tenta entender o que deu errado em seu relacionamento com Summer (Zooey Deschanel ). Desde sua exibição na Seleçao Oficial de Sundance 2009, a comédia romântica tem sido bastante elogiada pela crítica, assim como a química entre os protagonistas, que pode ser conferida no clipe: “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?” da banda She & Him.

500 Days of Summer plays out like a funnier version of a real relationship. Not to say that the film is some light breezy comedy, it generally is, but it has more smarts than all of Sandra Bullock’s, Meg Ryan’s and Julia Robert’s romantic comedies combined. That musical number is a definite highlight, even if Levitt’s dancing looks slightly wooden and spastic. It also has its fair share of awkward and painful moments. (Levitt’s alcohol soaked scenes of post-breakup depression come to mind.) Not since Annie Hall has a movie so realistically depicted the strange and wild practice we call modern romance. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel turn in great performances, which is to be expected of Levitt and a pleasant surprise from Deschanel. Bonus points to any film which has its main characters bonding over a mutual love of the Smiths, foreign films and art.

Undeniably cute, but dragged a little bit in the middle.

Above all there is little to say but:

WORST LAST LINE EVER

The last line leaves a real icky taste in your mouth. The whole thing seemed like a rip-off of better movies. High Fidelity comes to mind.