Review: (500) Days of Summer

2009

Directed by: Marc Webb

Written by: Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Geoffrey Arend, Chloe Moretz

(500) Days of Summer is a lovely little film about breaking up (yes, it's not a love story). I loved the use of anachronistic storytelling, it actually drew you in more instead of being confusing. Plus, it's kind of the way you think about the past - not usually in chronological order like a traditional story, and there's the 'oh wait right that happened' aspect.

Gordon-Levitt is adorable and so is Deschanel... their interactions make a lot of sense and seem so realistic. They're both somewhat average characters - as in, you probably know people like that. The message is mostly that yeah, there will be girls (or guys) like Summer who will be total bitches, but in the end life doesn't end when the relationship does. There are other people out there.

The movie reminded me of one of my all-time favorites, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It was similarly quirky and disjointed, though not quite as weird. There are also little tidbits that push it to that next level, like the 'author's note' in the beginning, and Tom's friend's comment that "you should turn it into a novel." Kind of great.

Grade: A

PS - Awesome soundtrack, too. Two Regina Spektor song including "Us" which might be my favorite of hers, the Smiths, and a bunch of indie stuff I'd never heard before but really liked.