(500) Days of Summer (2009) September 2, 2009
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Marc Webb
“This is a story of boy meets girl” asserts the unnamed narrator at the beginning of this offbeat romantic tale, “but you should know up front, it is not a love story.” As openings go, it is far from the typical starting point for a romantic comedy, but as we come to discover, (500) Days of Summer is anything but typical. With it’s pop song inspired title, a dash of genuine inventiveness and some fantastic lead performances, this enthusiastically non-linear story hits all the turning points in one couple’s rocky romance. And you can ignore the disclaimer, as it is insurmountably a love story - not necessarily one that takes place between its characters, as much as with the concept of love itself; its highs, its lows, and the confusing unpredictability in-between.
Tom Hansen is a bored greetings card writer who aspires to only two things: being an architect, and finding ‘the one’. Both dreams have so far evaded him, until he meets new office assistant and girl-of-his-dreams, Summer Finn. Their only problem is human nature itself: Tom is a hopeless romantic, while Summer is decidedly more pragmatic. Still, the two are brought together by fate (and The Smiths), and so begins a 500-day story that finds them in their most vulnerable moments - the burgeoning stages of a relationship, their unlabelled period of ‘dating’, and their inevitable break-up. Not satisfied with failure, Tom resigns himself to getting Summer back, but can already feel his sentimental dreams of true love and lasting happiness being washed away by the harsh tide of reality.
Featuring a beautifully written screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber, (500) Days of Summer tells its tale by jumping around within the defined 500-day time period. A title-card counter keeps track as we bounce back and forth, following the couple from their nervous beginnings, dipping into their tumultuous middle period, and occasionally glimpsing at the conclusion. Besides keeping you on your toes, this bizarre narrative structure also makes for a great device, and is used expertly to create moments of comedy and poignancy. The real skill employed here is in keeping the overall story as understandable as possible, yet up against such a fragmented timeline it’s surprising how easy it becomes to pick up your relative position.
Also deserving of credit is director Marc Webb, who has stepped out of a music video background to create this stunning first feature. He shoots a gorgeous looking LA that could easily be confused for its more aesthetically interesting cousin, New York. But more than this, he fills the movie with memorable shots, interesting visual concepts, and weird imaginary moments of whimsy. The romantic comedy is not a genre that typically demands high art from its film-makers yet Webb’s talent seems to lie in making everything look a breeze, never begging for attention with even the quirkiest manifestations – which here includes a musical ‘morning after’ sequence that would crumble in most films, but which (500) Days of Summer turns into just one of its many highlights.
Where it all truly comes together, though, is in the casting. It’s always satisfying to see someone who entirely deserves the attention finally getting their dues, and Joseph Gordon Levitt is perfectly equipped for this role, playing Tom with the appropriate mix of sentimental and neurotic charm. After stellar work in Mysterious Skin [review], The Lookout [review] and the fantastic Brick [review], this should finally be the movie that - if he wants it to - will propel him into the mainstream. And about time too. Zooey Deschanel is equally good as Summer, and despite some thinner previous roles, is the perfect match for Tom, playing believably as the unsure but never outright manipulative dream girl. The film can often feel like a simple two-hander, but it would be wrong not to mention Geoffrey Arend and Matthew Gray Gubler as Tom’s best friends McKenzie and Paul. They are often relegated to comic relief, but still make a fantastic job of it.
Then there’s the soundtrack, an element not to be underestimated in the creation of a truly enveloping movie experience. Writer Scott Neustadter, whose personal experiences make up most of the story, is clearly following in the Cameron Crowe tradition of storytelling - a tradition that uses music as a driver rather than a passenger. It can be dangerous: pick the wrong track and your scenes will come screeching to a halt. But get it right and the film flourishes around you, working its way into your subconscious and bedding itself there for later rumination. This film underpins its key moments with songs by Regina Spektor, The Smiths, some classic Hall & Oates, a stomping Wolfmother track and one rather elegant Carla Bruni ballad. It’s a typical indie/folksy mix, but so well selected that it puts the 95-minute running time on air.
It is also worth mentioning that the film’s two writers have just one previous film credit to their name, but you won’t guess what it is. It’s The Pink Panther 2 – a film which shows not a fraction of the ingenuity displayed here, nor gives them a chance to show their true talent. Case in point, among (500) Days of Summer’s ample share of unique moments, none shows the writers’ ability to capture the human condition more beautifully than the scene in which Tom attends a rooftop party which Summer is hosting. As he ascends the stairs, his expectations of the night are pared against the reality, and in perfectly timed split-screen we witness the manner in which we optimise our thoughts toward some unattainable perfect scenario, set against the more awkward imperfections of actuality. Webb pulls off this difficult visual representation tremendously, capping the scene with yet another postcard freeze-frame. As real life gets the better of Tom, he exits to a world that has forsaken him; an increasingly blurred hand-drawn sketch of what it was. A brilliant moment and a true tour de force for everyone involved.
For all its creativity, however, this is still a good old fashioned tale of romantic endeavour. There are moments in the first ten minutes when it’s hard to tell what the film wants to be, and it throws a little bit of everything at you from scene-setting narration to childhood flashbacks to character profiling set outside the rest of the narrative. Give it time to settle down, though, and you’ll discover a true gem. (500) Days of Summer sets its aspirations high, with a risky gender switch that casts its male role as the insecure romantic, and its female as the non-committal object of affection. But you’ll barely even notice the trick, as the story rides a roller-coaster of emotional states, pulling its audience along for the ride. And if indeed it is “not a love story” as it so intently assures us, you can’t deny the thread of hope that’s woven into every frame. Hope for the characters and hope for the future of the romantic comedy. A lasting message that, even as the cold September nights draw in, there’s still a little bit of Summer left.
(500) Days of Summer is on UK general release from Friday September 4th.
Comments»
Nice to read this film’s a good’un — I saw an advert recently that boasted glowing reviews from NME, Cosmopolitan, Heat, Radio 1’s James King, and News of the World’s Robbie Collins (”one of the best films of the year”), so I was all set to avoid it like the plague.
One question: any explanation as to why 500 is in brackets in the title? Or is it just a “stylistic flourish” a la Tarantino’s recent lack of spellchecking?
It is indeed one of the good ones – I too was surprised by the lack of (I hesitate to say ‘credible’ sources, but here I go regardless) credible sources backing this film with positive soundbites. I’ve seen other reviews both good and mediocre since, and while it may well be a bit of a hipster-flick as they report, it was hardly worthy of the dressing down Mark Kermode gave it for being too ‘kooky’ and quirky – save those comments for Nacho Libre, Eagle vs Shark, and films that are irrefutably of that nature.
As to your question, the title is supposed to be inspired by those song titles that conceal their full meaning in brackets. So much like ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’, or ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’, I guess this is giving us license to call it simply ‘Days of Summer’ in the future?