Movie Review: (500) Days of Summer

2009 has been a notable year for major action/sci-fi blockbusters, such as GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Terminator Salvation and the latest instalment in the Star Trek movie series. However when looking over Hollywood's output for the year, the real gems are in the less flashy, smaller budget films that do more than mindlessly entertain. (500) Days of Summer, Director Marc Webb's first feature film endeavour, is one such film. The movie is creative, artistic, witty, and surprisingly down-to-earth without being depressingly realistic.

It is a story of boy meets girl, as the opening narration informs us, but it also makes an important disclaimer: it is not a love story. The film is told from the point of view of Tom Hanson, a young aspiring architect who abandoned his dream and makes a living working at a greeting card company. Tom is ardently devoted to the idea of true love, and lives his life in expectation of "The One." The movie begins when Tom meets the pretty, witty and unconventional Summer Finn, who most decidedly does not believe in true love and is not interested in tying herself down. Despite that, Tom falls in love with Summer and the movie chronicles the 500 days he has with her. The story is relayed to us in a nonlinear manner, often showing us the effect before the cause, depicting not only the relationship of Summer and Tom, but also the transformation of Tom's views toward romance.

(500) Days of Summer is an attempt at an honest portrayal of romance in the modern world, and captures the raw pain of rejection extremely well. The disclaimer is justified: the movie doesn't end with a wedding or reconciliation between the two lovers. Yet I left the theatre with high spirits and even after watching it again, found the film enormously enjoyable. This may be because of the wonderful fusion of honest storyline, clever cinematography, witty dialogue, and an exceptional soundtrack. Marc Webb brings many of the elements he picked up while directing music videos to heighten the artistic factor of the movie. He willingly suspends reality to make a point quite a few times, and I think it is far more effective than many other tricks directors have tried. Interesting moments, like a musical-esque dance scene, a play on a depressing French film, even a split screen portraying Tom's expectations versus reality add a new dimension to the film.

The characters really breathe life into it, however. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel who play Tom and Summer, respectively, both give wonderfully whimsical but realistic performances. They are both nice looking and intelligent, but do not come across as larger than life. They are very credible in their roles, and have wonderful chemistry. They are also joined by a group of delightful minor characters, such as Tom's hard-drinking foolish friend McKenzie, and his precocious little sister, Rachel. The minor characters are not meant to be taken seriously, but they liven up the story and add perspective.

"Robin is better than the girl of my dreams: she's real." Spoken by a minor character, that line is one of the most memorable from the movie. "That to me is this movie in a nutshell," said main actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt. "I think it's so spot on." (500) Days of Summer shows the audience, through Tom, that while love, destiny, and soul mates are wonderful things to believe in, you can't let your fantasies cloud your view of reality. This movie stands out, not just from the traditional "chick flick" genre, but from most of the films I've seen. It uses techniques that we don't often expect when going to the theatre. It is light-hearted and amusing, while also posing serious questions about how we perceive love. Few movies have done what this movie has done, and even fewer have done it this well.