Login
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.''
10/10
