Review: 500 Days of Summer

Author’s Note: The following review is based purely on a fictional film. Any conveyed emotion read between the lines is purely coincidental, as is the the similarity of the film to any person’s or persons’ actual life events. Apparently, life has sucked for a lot of people… You aren’t special. No, really… you aren’t.

Love hurts. Not being loved… well, that hurts even more.

In typical indie–movie fashion, 500 Days of Summer attempts to show us the reality of our everyday love stories minus the sheen of typical Hollywood romantic comedies. While it isn’t a “coming–of–age” story, 500 Days of Summer is definitely a “coming–to–grips” story, delicately reminding us that our memory is selective and polished just like so many of those Hollywood films that we’ve grown up watching. The fact that it handles this task with such finesse is what truly makes this film shine.

The film takes us through the romance of Tom and Summer (played by Joseph Gordon–Levitt and Zooey Deschanel), jumping in and out of their 500 day history much like anyone’s mind would when trying to answer the question, “What went wrong?” The resulting roller coaster of elation and sorrow isn’t so much manipulative as it is unnerving, because so many of us have been there once upon a time.

The only time the film falters is when it does fall into the typical romantic comedy conventions, not because we’ve seen those scenes before but rather because they are such a stark difference from the rest of the film’s carefully crafted honesty. They simply don’t fit. Interview–style reflections, best friend therapy sessions, and sweeping pan–shots with “I’m gonna go get that girl” smiles only serve to pull the audience out of what would otherwise be a very involved experience; reminding them, “oh right, this is a movie.”

Ultimately though, 500 Days of Summer is a success, if only for its moments of true honesty. Our dreams shape our expectations and perceptions. We lie to ourselves about the past to justify and rationalize the present. We do our best to cope when reality topples our aggrandized hopes. We lie and perpetuate the pristine love story to others because no one, no matter how cynical or defeated, wants to believe or remember the truth of when we walked away bloodied and empty handed, where falling tears only served to salt our wounds. Even still, we’d never give up the time we spent 500 days with…

Find More Information: Official Movie Site, Trailer at Apple.com