(500) Days of Summer, A Review
Romantic Indie Flick Plays with Theme of Love and Relationships
Aug 9, 2009
The audience would do well to remember the opening lines of the playfully irresistible 500 Days of Summer starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Narrator: “This is a story of boy meets girl…You should know up front, this is not a love story.”
The film bares the marks of an Indie classic, even featuring the indy queen herself, actress-singer Zooey Deschanel. Moreover, this indy takes it upon itself to deconstruct the Hollywood romance both in its plot, alternative structure, and allusions to popular films. 500 Days of Summer succeeds by making us a little bit less sure about that promised happy ending.
Why 500 Days of Summer Is an Original Love Story
There is a stroke of genius and originality in 500 Days of Summer, a romantic comedy which follows the 500 days of Tom’s (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) obsession with Summer (Zooey Deschanel). The film struggles with romance and relationships; reality conflicts with Tom's devotion to Summer and his conviction that she is the one.
As Tom falls for the whimsical, alluring Summer, the audience becomes devoted to them as a couple. Viewed through 500 days (in no particular order), the film uses Tom’s memory to piece together their relationship. We are whisked through their relationships moment by moment: a romp through IKEA and a bar fight standing out as turning points in their relationship. We ignore all the warning signs because we have become so attached to their relationship. Just as Tom’s infatuation causes him to see the relationship through rose colored glasses, the cute couple demand the audience's devotion to the relationship.
When the narrators warning comes true, not only is Tom heartbroken, but the audience feels cheated out of a traditional love story.
Deviating from the Traditional Love Story Narrative
Tom, a greeting card writer whose works include cards like “I Love Us,” strongly believes in the traditional love story narrative. But as it becomes clear that Tom’s fantasy romance is diverging from reality (a split screen during one scene makes this abundantly clear), the audience and their protagonist together cope with the failure of the clichéd romantic narrative. Is there really such a thing as love?
The Triumph of Love and Destiny
Yes! Destiny triumphs in that clichéd, unbelievable way only a romantic comedy can get away with.
500 Days of Summer is a little film that tries to cover a lot of territory, from references to The Graduate to musical numbers. In the end, the film succeeds not as a meaningful comment on the art of film but as a delightful little movie whose many cinematic devices and quirky style keep us intrigued and happy the whole way through. In the end, 500 Days of Summer does not break our hearts, but it may fill them with trepidation by injecting a dose of reality into Hollywood fantasy.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel Are a Match Made in Heaven
The acting in this film does not disappoint. Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel make this movie what it is. Both their individual characters and their chemistry together are a pleasure to watch. Both director and script take pains to develop and explain these two characters that Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel embody so perfectly. Tom Hansen believes in true love, destiny, and happily ever-after. Tainted by her own parents divorce, Summer thinks love is a fairy-tale. Becoming their characters, these are two tour de force performances that carry the movie.
500 Day of Summer Is a Directorial Debut for Marc Webb
First-time film Director Marc Webb exhibits his past as a director of music videos (a musical number in downtown Los Angeles) while proving his ability as a movie director.
Perhaps Webb went too far with Gordon-Levitt’s boardroom breakdown and heartfelt refutation of commercialized love stories. But given the irony that the film itself is yet another of these commercialized love-fests, Webb probably couldn’t resist.
As a film that has not escaped the mainstream, 500 Days of Summer entertains some self-defeating themes: the Hollywood story of love and destiny (as Tom misunderstands The Graduate to represent) is unreal; the Hallmark portrayal of love isn’t real either.
So what is the audience meant to believe? Well, probably nothing. This is a comedy after all. So sit back and enjoy.
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