(500) Days of Summer
Directed by Marc Webb
Fox Searchlight, 2009
By Sean Kelly
You can tell that you are in for a treat when a film starts off with the familiar disclaimer about how the following is a work of fiction, right before name-dropping the individual that the film is apparently not about — and then calling her a bitch.
(500) Days of Summer is a quirky romantic comedy that is much better than the run of cliché-reliant rom-coms churned out by the mainstream. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whom most people will probably remember from the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, though he’s managed to gain some indie-cred in recent years, including a role in the teen noir film Brick, which I consider a recent favourite. He plays Tom, a young man working at greeting card company, who enters a relationship with his co-worker Summer (Zooey Deschanel).
In a format I found a bit reminiscent of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the film goes back and forth along the 500 days of Tom and Summer’s relationship. The halfway point is marked by Summer breaking up with Tom (which is actually one of the first scenes in the film) and the chronology proceeds to contrast the bright and happy early days against the dark and depressing later days.
This structure is actually one of the most entertaining elements of the film, especially since each half contrasts the extremes of Tom’s feelings. For example, there is a scene where Tom celebrates his blossoming romance with Summer with a dance number on the street (I’m not kidding). The sequence ends with Tom entering an elevator all happy, then fast-forwards to post-break up when Tom exits the elevator looking ragged and depressed. Another contrast I enjoyed was Tom, early in the film, describing the features of Summer he likes the best; later on the same scene returns with Tom now hating those very same features.
In addition to the non-chronological format, there are other neat quirks in this film. One sequence employs split screens — one screen showing Tom’s expectations and the other side what is really happening. Inspired creative choices like this made the film continuously enjoyable.
One the best things that (500) Days of Summer has going for it is the strength of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel’s chemistry. They both do a good job of playing out both the good and bad stages of Tom and Summer’s relationship. I don’t think the film would have worked if not for the way the two played off of each other.
(500) Days of Summer is probably one of the best romantic comedies for people that don’t really like romantic comedies. As the poster and the narration at the start of the film emphasize, even though this is a story about a boy and a girl, it is not a love story, but rather a story about love. And that makes it all the better.
