Note: You know how when someone asks you during lunch table conversation - "What's your favorite movie?" and you are taken aback. Because you know you have seen so many damn good movies, but cant seem to remember even one, at the time! Well, this one counts as one of my favorite movies...and will remember to mark it so in my memory :)
IMDB Entry: 500 Days of Summer
Genre: Romantic Comedy
This movie is pretty much summed up by its opening lines:
"This is a story of boy meets girl. But you should know up front, this is not a love story."
I will be honest, the first time I saw this movie I didn't think much of it. But the second time I saw, I realized it was cleverly made for a rom-com movie. I have been a rom-com movie fan for a long time. Specially the Nora Ephron kinds. (You know, The Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail types?) The type that leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling. Of late, I have lost interest in this genre. Because every movie in this genre is a rehash of known rom-com hits. So if you are a man and reading this right now, don't stop reading. Because this movie is nothing like a usual rom-com that focusses only on girls and their fairy tale stories. Yes, it has the "cute" moments, but equal parts of the movie are also focussed on the guy. And here it is the guy who believes in true love, marriage and happy ever after.
Joseph-Gordon Levitt plays Tom, your average guy next door, passing away his time in a greeting card company where he devices corny captions for cards. Although he is an aspiring architect, he is quite comfortable leading his life this way. He strongly believes he will meet his true love someday. The new copier girl, Zooey Deschanel as Summer, arrives and Tom believes she's the one for him. The two start dating.
The movie also follows a very non-linear narrative, journaling 500 days of their relationship - which I thought was a refreshing way of narrating a story. Because really in life and relationships, all things bittersweet are non-linear. You go through highs and lows, laughs and fights and they are never really coherent. The movie is sprinkled with songs (yes! kinda like Bollywood movies) that gives it a "Glee" like look in parts. But they aren't disruptive and flow well with the narrative. In fact, some of the songs (I never heard of before), became my favorites from this movie.
There are a few elements that work in this movie - its "close to reality" portrayal of a relationship that starts from the blossoming of love to periods of confusion and fights due to the pair's diametrically opposite views on love. This movie will relate with guys who have gotten their hearts broken and eventually went after their dreams and moved on.
The lead actors share a great chemistry - so believable that at some point in the movie, you really want their relationship to work out. The cinematography is brilliant and well thought out. For example, in one of the songs the color coordination is blue to match Zooey's blue eyes.
All said, in every movie I look for a story and the storytelling. And I think this movie was a good attempt in telling the usual love story in a clever way - heartbreaking and hopeful, just like life. This movie definitely grows on you - I have liked it more the second or the third time I watched.
All said, in every movie I look for a story and the storytelling. And I think this movie was a good attempt in telling the usual love story in a clever way - heartbreaking and hopeful, just like life. This movie definitely grows on you - I have liked it more the second or the third time I watched.
And no, I don't think Summer is a b****. What did you think?
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