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(500) DAYS OF SUMMER Marc Webb Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt Zooey Deschanel Geoffrey Arend Recently I was asked what my favourite romantic comedy was. Curiously enough, this was a bit of a difficult question for me to answer. For me, rom-coms are like action flicks, a largely exploitative mess topped with a ridiculous ending. The few I do seem to get along with (meaning enjoy on a personal level rather than professionally reviewed) are usually bitter rants; a few good examples would be High Fidelity, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind and Some Like It Hot. Having said all that, I can now confirm that (500) Days Of Summer is by far, my all-time favourite romantic comedy. I absolutely love this movie. Alright, before we get ahead of ourselves and I begin my tirade of lavish praise you should know that I am a completely biased party. As an impartial critic, I desperately try not to be but this film struck a chord with me and I couldn't help but feel a clear and distinct affinity for Tom and his plight - in fact, I have never seen myself so accurately portrayed by any onscreen character as I have here. So, just keep that in mind as I'm spooling along. Before I detail the plot, it might be wiser to analyse the film's structure. As the title states, this film depicts the entire emotional spectrum of one man's feelings for a particular girl; this simply happens to take place over precisely five hundred days. However, rather than following the standard, formulaic pattern, the movie flitters about between various important events - meaning we start on day 488 then back to 1 then 4 then 3. It sounds incredibly disjointed and for some it's going to be a bit bewildering but it works in such a beautiful way, allowing audiences to analyse the various nuances of a relationship without being dragged through the obvious progression of highs and lows. The boy in this case is Tom Hansen [Gordon-Levitt] and the girl, Summer Finn [Deschanel]; both work at the same greetings card company, both share completely different concepts of what love is and yet both feel a certain attraction. But the real key to this film's success is the realism. Yes, yes, the plot is fine and the writing well done but the characters are so very recognisable and the scenarios even more so. In a way we're presented with the same cutesy bullshit from almost all 'couples flicks' but it doesn't come off as cheesy in any way. Instead, we're given the lasting impression that these are real people and we are witnessing a real relationship. One of the greatest attributes for this release is the fact that the writers have managed to capture all the hectic emotional madness of a year and a half long relationship; the thrills, the nerves, the excitement, the fights, the little quirks, everything. All of which can be credited to five specific individuals: the director, the writer, the editor and our two leads. Without these elements working in perfect harmony this film simply would not work as a whole. The dialogue is funny and extremely well written, the visual treats and jump cuts are engrossing, the disconnected sequence of events are original and innovative and our two lead actors take us through an entire relationship whilst managing to instil complete neutrality by the close; rather than hate Summer or pity Tom, we've moved on. In a sense... we're happy for them. What I'm trying to convey is that this film manages to put us in the relationship from start to finish, providing closure at the end, as if we were living out the events. And if you're looking for a negative or a downside, I'm afraid the only ones I could see were the soundtrack which really grated on me and the fact that in order to appreciate this release you really need to be in a position where you've loved, lost and moved on - but other than that, this was pure gold. This movie is everything people were telling me Juno was. This film, to me, is one of the finest non-love stories to ever grace the cinema. Release Date: 2nd September 2009 The Scene To Look Out For: In an intelligent and original way of explaining Tom's wracked mindset without having him sit there and monologue for ten minutes, we are treated to a whole host of distinctive sequences. However, two in particular stuck out in my mind. The first depicts a very emotionally engaged Tom and Summer watching a movie before skipping two hundred days forward to a distressed, miserable Tom seated in the cinema watching an experimental French film. As we cut to the onscreen story we notice that Tom is the star. It's got slow music, it's in black and white, there are mimes, a balloon and a scene in which he's wearing a polo neck (turtle neck for my yank readers) and just saying 'suffering' before waking up alone in the empty cinema. Very amusing and extremely well done. The second is Tom's shot at redemption. The screen splits down the centre, depicting his expectations of how events will unfold on the left and reality on the right. Again, another amusing and extremely well executed sequence that simply exudes genius. Notable Characters: As stated, I have never seen a character so perfectly like me than in Tom. However, more importantly than that, is Zooey Deschanel's performance of Summer. By all rights we should hate this woman. You're dragged through our hero's turmoil because of this woman and yet we're constantly reminded that it was never her fault and she explained from the get-go what she was after. By the end of the film we come to believe that these two simply were not suited for one another but for an actress to convince the audience to hate, love and forgive her is a remarkable achievement and one I think will be greatly overlooked. Highlighted Quote: "Just because some cute girl likes the same bizzaro crap you do, that doesn't mean she's your soul mate" In A Few Words: "Quite simply, my absolute favourite romantic comedy of all time - quite the statement, I know" Total Score: 
9/10Matthew Stogdon |
