(500) Days of Summer
(500) Days of Summer made a splash when it premiered in theatres last summer, with many critics loving it and singing its praises, but it didn't play in many cities and then disappeared. It recently became available on DVD and Blu-ray, where I finally had the opportunity to view it and now I can see what all the hype was about. This small, independent film takes quirky to a whole new level and isn't afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve, but it also is a powerful and surprisingly moving film that explores the ups and downs of modern-day relationships.
The story concerns Tom (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) a writer for a greeting card company and the girl of his dreams, Summer (played by Zooey Deschanel). They have several meet cutes before finally agreeing to date even though Summer tells Tom from the very beginning that she is not a relationship type person at all. Throughout the film, we follow the couple through all the stages of their relationship from first date to first kiss to first sex, and everything in-between, including their breakup and fallout. While this might sound fairly conventional, what makes the film unique is how it chooses to tell the story. Instead of telling the story in chronological order, instead the film chooses to show it completely out of order and jumbled all around. Day 2 is not necessarily after Day One and indeed we get Day 300 before Day 45. All this is used effectively to show how the progression of a relationship isn't always in a linear timeline like we would prefer it to be. Sometimes, relationships can seem all out of order and disjointed especially once they end.
What I loved most about this film was how director Mark Webb used some unconventional methods to tell his story of this relationship. Besides the fractured narrative, there is a brief musical number, a split screen segment, a segment in black and white, and various other directorial flourishes that make the film incredibly original and unique. This is indeed one of the most unique films I have ever seen, but all that originality would be for nothing if the performances and the story weren't up to par. Fortunately, Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel are more than capable of handling this material and have fantastic chemistry together.
The story more than holds together and imparts the lesson that the girl of your dreams may not be the one you are meant to end up with when all is said and done. I think this film more than any I have seen in recent memory really gets at the pain and anguish of a modern relationship. It would have been so easy and convenient for these two to end up together and married, but it would have also been the wrong choice. It would have been too conventional for such an unconventional film to go that route. Not every couple is meant to spend the rest of their lives together. Indeed, this is a couple that shouldn’t, as it would not be fair to their characters. Modern relationships are messy, odd, awkward, and full of long periods of time where the couples hate each other. Not every romance is meant to last and that was what made this film so refreshing for me. The fact that it doesn't take the easy way out and put these two characters together forever took a certain amount of guts as moviegoers go to these kind of movies in order to have that fairytale ending but this film is like a punch in the stomach to that notion of the fairy tale ending and that made it more realistic and relatable than almost any other film like it.
I tend to like unconventional films, and movies that challenge me and upend all that has come before. In this way, (500) Days of Summer has succeeded and in my mind is a complete and total triumph. Buoyed by winning performances from two of the cinema's most charming young actors and enhanced by an unconventional and unique narrative style and ending, (500) Days of Summer takes its place as one of the year's best films and indeed one of the best romantic comedies ever. If you missed this one in theaters, now is your chance to see for yourself what others have been saying for months.
Don't hesitate to rent this one; just don't expect a happy, fairy-tale ending. Grade: A+
