500 Days of Summer
“This is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know upfront, this is not a love story.”
This month for our Good Vibes review we’re going back to 2009 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of a contemporary classic. ‘500 Days of Summer’ is a much-loved and lauded romcom, that arguably isn’t even a romcom at all…
At the centre of the story, we have Zooey Deschanel as the titular Summer, a charming and free-spirited new employee who arrives in the office of Tom, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, an indie music loving failed architect turned greeting card writer (is/was that even a real job?)
Through the eyes of Tom (this is important!) we witness the 500 days of their relationship and its ups and downs.
From the first sparks at a karaoke evening, to a break-up that all but tips Tom over the edge, the film follows Tom’s idealised view of his relationship with Summer, contrasting it with the harsh reality of what was actually happening. It’s presented in a non-linear structure, bouncing back and forth across different days of the 500, allowing us to piece together the puzzle of their journey.
One of the most interesting things about this film, and perhaps one of the contributing factors to its enduring success, is the way viewers' attitudes towards the characters have shifted over time, mirroring an increased awareness, and changing attitudes towards heterosexual relationship dynamics. As viewers see things solely from Tom’s point of view, Summer was initially on the receiving end of disdain and anger for breaking the heart of a poor, nice guy. When in reality, she acted in the best interests of both of them, as well as outlining her intentions from the beginning and reiterating them along the way.
This isn’t an accident or by chance, it was a conscious decision by the filmmakers to draw attention to Tom’s flawed behaviour. Joseph Gordon-Levitt said the following about his character in an interview back in 2012:
"He develops a mildly delusional obsession over a girl onto whom he projects all these fantasies… He thinks she’ll give his life meaning because he doesn’t care about much else going on in his life…That’s not healthy. That’s falling in love with the idea of a person, not the actual person."
Aside from challenging the idea of romantic destiny, this is also just an outright enjoyable film to watch. It’s funny as well as heartfelt, and it’s visually slick, cool, and engaging. The chemistry between Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on point and they both deliver great performances.
Would it even be a Penta movie review if we didn’t spend at least a little time focusing on the music? Given that it’s a key element of the plot, not to mention that director Marc Webb began his career directing music videos, it's unsurprising that this movie has such a great soundtrack. It really compliments the film, as well as giving us a lot of insight into the characters and their taste. Plus, the fact that Tom and Summer bond over The Smiths definitely doesn’t have anything to do with us including a Smiths song in this month's PENTA SOUNDS. Nope, nothing at all…
Given that we’re just movie lovers and not actual critics, we’ve already rambled on long enough. So, we’ll leave you with this – If you haven’t seen this movie for a while, watch it again, you won’t regret it. If you’ve never seen it, watch it, like as soon as possible. You definitely won’t regret it.
Still credits: “500 Days of Summer - the only love story you ever need to see” uploaded to YouTube by Alex Meyers
