“You should know upfront, this is not a love story.” And yet, it seems so heartwarming. The film, (500) Days of Summer, has been a hit since its trailers hit the Internet in January 2009. The seemingly realistic, yet romantic plotline of this film seemed to really strike a chord with fans of the rising-in-popularity Indie Film genre.
The main feature trailer for (500) Days of Summer depicts a story of a boy and a girl. One (the boy) seems to be a helpless romantic, while the other (the girl coincidentally named Summer) tends to personally lean towards skepticism on the romance subject. Somehow they become a quite unlikely couple, only to have life slap them in their faces as they go their separate ways. But the boy is still not over Summer, claiming that he doesn’t want to get over her and instead wants her back. This is where the real story begins as the boy (whose name is Tom) recounts his time with Summer for all movie goers to see.
Since its only a trailer, viewers can not yet really see his recount of his time with Summer, if that’s truly even how the movie plays out. That is our (as movie goers) cue to sit in anticipation, waiting for that day when we get to see what really happened and learn more about who these characters truly are. Now, that day has come. It is time to actually see the movie and see if it completes the puzzles the trailer set up in our minds. It’s time for us to find out who Tom and Summer really are what their romantic plight is really about.
The film, told through timecards depicting days in Tom and Summer’s relationship, begins on Day 488. Only 12 days until the imminent end of the relationship and even then, you can tell that the relationship is on its last legs. But what else did you expect? The trailer didn’t exactly predict unicorns and butterflies for this couple’s romance. When the relationship does end, Tom (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is left with one word on his lips… ‘Why?’ To Tom, the relationship was unicorns and butterflies. To him, the relationship was perfect and normal in every single way and if it was in fact so perfect…then… ‘Why?’ Why is only answered as you look back through the couple’s relationship and realize that Summer (played by Zooey Deschanel) never wanted ‘anything serious’. Tom was too blinded to see her wants and ideas. He saw Summer as ‘the one’, as his soul mate for whom he would spend the rest of his life with. The fact that she wasn’t ‘the one’, a fact that Tom refused to accept, sent him into depression.
While this movie doesn’t seem very heartwarming from the paragraph above, it does have heartwarming moments. There are times during the early days of Tom and Summer’s relationship where viewers may just want to stand and smile. They may want to cheer for the young lovers, especially Tom. They may want to relate to the bliss Tom is feeling while everything seems to fit perfectly in his life. And as most normal viewers may know, perfection doesn’t last forever. The one thing this movie is is relatable. In real life, not every romance lasts forever. Even in those romances that do, not everything is always unicorns and butterflies. Life remains hard. Love remains something that must be mutual and worked at. Not every ending is ‘happily ever after’. (500) Days of Summer, like many other films before it, points this out and adds reality to a genre of romantic comedy where reality is something kept hush-hush.
“This is not a love story. It’s a story about love.” This is another very true tagline for this film. In my own opinion, I liked this film. It was smart, funny, heartwarming, saddening, and real. I felt one with not just Tom, but also with Summer. I knew I had been in each of their shoes before and it even helped me better understand others who had been (or are even currently) in those shoes right now. Joseph Gordon-Levitt did an amazing job as Tom and is quite the heartbreaker himself, while Zooey Deschanel never stops amazing me with her good acting and beautiful looks. But I don’t think anyone should take my opinion for it. People reading this should see it for themselves and make their own opinions. Let yourselves fall in and out of love with this film, (500) Days of Summer.
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Published review can be found here.
1 comment:
Wow I didnt know Joseph Gordon-Levitt was even still acting. I used to love him so much. He was a major crush of mine when I was younger. I might have to go see this movie :)
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