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Synopsis:
An offbeat romantic comedy about a woman who doesn't believe true love exists, and the young man who falls for her.
The Freak's
Rating: A :
Once in a while a film comes out that I am just DYING for everyone I know to see. 500 Days Of Summer is so far, the best of the year. Though many will not be "into" this type of indy film, those who appreciate the lost art of originality in cinema will truly find a gem here.
Joseph Gordon Levitt continues to impress me with nearly every project he touches. Levitt is perfect as Tom, a regular guy with an office crush we can all relate to. This crush, however, isn't on an unobtainable girl or a beauty queen, it is on Summer, a seemingly perfect blend of every trait you want in a woman. Summer (played by the beautiful Zooey Deschanel) embodies everything different you want your life to be, with an air of uncontrolability that is quite appealing.
The film takes amazing risks in storytelling and never pretends not to, even with its opening credits blasting the writer's ex. In the end you are left with an amazingly honest analysis of love and why it does what it does to a person. This is worthy of every ounce of critical praise it has received to this point and is a rare gem that merits seeking it out.
Brian's Rating: A+ : This movie is perfect. This is exactly what a love story should be. That is to say, its not a love story, even by the screenwriter's admission even. Instead, it reflects what relationships really are, and it does so in such a clever manner that no movie past or future can even hope to match.
Perhaps I am jaded, but part of what makes me so bitter about most rom-coms is that they are are so totally contrived that it makes me sick. They are an extremely poor reflection about how relationships actually work in people's lives and consequently any feeling of empathy or even basic connections for the characters are tossed aside in the first 5 minutes. I don't know about the rest of you, but I didn't even come close to experiencing even an ounce of the junk they throw up on screen and expect us to swallow.
Maybe you were extraordinarily blessed in your relationships throughout life. If you are, then phooey on you. You do not represent the vast majority humans living throughout time. If you are more normalized, then you will not be able to help but feel a connection to at least part of what is happening in this story. Male or female alike.
Its not a spoiler to say that this movie portrays 500 days where a girl called Summer is an integral part of the main character's life. It starts with a break-up about two-thirds of the way into these 500 days, and then skips around relevant parts of the time frame to show examples of memories and/or reactions to slowly piece together an emotional state for the main character, Tom. You simply cannot help but be drawn in. This is what life is!! That could have been me. It could have been anybody. This guy (the screen writer) gets it. This is a masterpiece.
The movie is not precisely about a breakup, and it is not precisely about the relationship. More accurately it is about the effects that Summer has on Tom. It shows his infatuation, his obsession, and his crushing realization that Summer cannot be his soul mate. As he reflects on things, realizations come in many forms, but one of the most unique is his school-age little sister who imparts wisdom that is beyond her years.
Another thing I like about this story is that it shatters the completely untrue stereotype that males are always the ones who are afraid of commitment, that males do not form emotional bonds while dating. Sure, there are guys who fit this bill, but there are also girls. Nobody ever talks about this... shhhh, its taboo. In this movie Summer plays the part of the sterotypical guy and Tom is the girl. Not in a wierd fairy-like way, but in a real people sort of way. He is not a girly guy, nor is he a loser. He is just shown as vulnerable. Just like we all ultimately are.
I am not a hopeless romantic. The movie "Love Actually" does not ring my bell. For me, the end of "Up in the Air" is awesome and Ryan Bingham continues his life in the self-constructed cage he trapped himself in. Your hopeless romantic will see it differently. Having said that, 500 days of Summer ends with day 1, but not of the Summer era. Instead its day 1 of the rest of Tom's life. This ray of light keeps the movie out of the category of a depressive sob-story. What happens after day one is rightly not revealed in the movie, but without spoiling anything, the hopeless romantic will construct a completely different ending in their mind than I do.
Anytime anybody ever wants to chat about this movie, I will immediately jump in. It is a beautiful story, and a well constructed film. You would be doing yourself a disservice to not see this movie. It was easily the best film of the last 10 years in my mind (not counting Inglorius Basterds of course which simply can never be topped nor even compared to something like this), and should be part of every single person's movie watching resume.
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