(500) Days of Summer is a romance for today's youth. It is not idealistic or overly romantic. Instead, it is a refreshingly realistic portrait of a relationship.
The narrator tells you up front that it is not "a love story," beginning an interesting narrative structure that immediately draws you into the relationship between Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel).
The setup is non-linear, so you know within the first few scenes that things don't look good for Tom and Summer. But this being a modern romance, the lack of a long-lasting future for the two leads should not deter you from seeing it through to the end. The beginning of the relationship, its ups and downs and all of the completely relatable stuff in between, is what's important.
And all of this relatable stuff is at times hilarious and at others touching, thanks to the excellent writing and the two leads, who have never been more charming.
Gordon-Levitt as Tom, a believer in true love, a greeting-card writer and aspiring architect, really captivates. You, helpless to stop the inevitable heartbreak, feel for Tom when it's just not working out and then hope it does work out, for his sake.
Deschanel as the new girl at the greeting card company who wants nothing more than a casual relationship is just as intriguing to audience members as Summer is to Tom when she first enters his life.
But it's not only the dialogue and characters that keep "(500) Days of Summer" fresh. The film is truly a joy to watch in the aesthetic sense. It is the first full-length feature film for director Marc Webb, who is most known for his work on music videos. His experience in this genre is most obvious in a comedic musical number, complete with animated bluebird.
Flipping through days in Tom and Summer's relationship is never tedious, though it can at times be slightly confusing. But, after all, real relationships are confusing and this is not a love story.
Monica Burton
(500) Days of Summer
(500) Days of Summer is a romance for today's youth. It is not idealistic or overly romantic. Instead, it is a refreshingly realistic portrait of a relationship.
The narrator tells you up front that it is not "a love story," beginning an interesting narrative structure that immediately draws you into the relationship between Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel).
The setup is non-linear, so you know within the first few scenes that things don't look good for Tom and Summer. But this being a modern romance, the lack of a long-lasting future for the two leads should not deter you from seeing it through to the end. The beginning of the relationship, its ups and downs and all of the completely relatable stuff in between, is what's important.
And all of this relatable stuff is at times hilarious and at others touching, thanks to the excellent writing and the two leads, who have never been more charming.
Gordon-Levitt as Tom, a believer in true love, a greeting-card writer and aspiring architect, really captivates. You, helpless to stop the inevitable heartbreak, feel for Tom when it's just not working out and then hope it does work out, for his sake.
Deschanel as the new girl at the greeting card company who wants nothing more than a casual relationship is just as intriguing to audience members as Summer is to Tom when she first enters his life.
But it's not only the dialogue and characters that keep "(500) Days of Summer" fresh. The film is truly a joy to watch in the aesthetic sense. It is the first full-length feature film for director Marc Webb, who is most known for his work on music videos. His experience in this genre is most obvious in a comedic musical number, complete with animated bluebird.
Flipping through days in Tom and Summer's relationship is never tedious, though it can at times be slightly confusing. But, after all, real relationships are confusing and this is not a love story.
