For someone who has totally given up on the
genre, "500 Days of summer" distinguishes itself in the way it
changes how a person looks at the "rom-com" genre. So much so, that
one can hardly classify the movie as rom-com anymore. This movie deserves a
genre of its own. As revealed very early into the film, one of "not love
stories".
In a directorial masterstroke, the director
Marc Webb has created this hauntingly beautiful tale, pieced together from characters
you've lived in your life. This is a story of "boy meets girl", but
this is not a love story. It begins with Tom(Joseph Gordon Levitt), a greeting
card writer and an aspiring architect falls head over heels for the newly
appointed coworker Summer(Zooey Deschanel). Tom is an out and out romantic, who
believes in surreal ideas on love and destiny, and is convinced that he has
found his "soulmate" in Summer. She, on the other hand is the exact
anti-thesis to his character, with events from the past having left her devoid
of any feeling of emotion. The movie takes you through how, despite their
differences, they find deep attraction for each other. And how, despite of the
"love" they share, they cannot deny the differences in the way they view
the subject. It's a story of their struggle to find happiness within the
confines of "incompatible love". So much for not spoiling the movie,
the end is somewhat of a "happily ever after" in a truly
unconventional sense that literally haunts you.
The movie follows a nonlinear storyline,
depicting the dynamics of Tom and Summer's relationship, which has been
executed brilliantly, being a first for a movie of its genre. As the narrative
progresses, the graphic imagery unfolds with extremely good shots and THIS
magnificient transition effect, in which the scene dips to a charcoal drawing, that
makes for some amazing visual impact.
The casting director, Eyde Belasco has done
a wonderful job, with Joseph Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschanel fitting the
bills for their characters perfectly. They make you feel what they feel, with
performances that exude emotion. You can relate to each character and by the
time the movie ends, you feel deeply for each of them. The two main characters
are supported by very strong writing. The only thing the movie lacks, being
maybe, to point one thing out, the way the other characters are pushed too much
to the fringe. The only other character that gets a decent amount of screen
time is Tom's little sister. And she is annoying.
The movie delivers in the way that it feels
real, in the way that you can see yourself in those two characters. For a
change, this time it's not a tale of damsel in distress and Prince Charming.
It's about a beginning that leads to an end and the protagonist has no idea
how. It's the movie that comes close to a seemingly true depiction of love. In
that way, it's the Annie Hall of our times.
The soundtrack is in a league of its own.
It complements the movie, start to end, featuring tracks by Regina Spektor and
The Smiths among others. To say the least, the soundtrack "evokes
emotion", much like the movie.
I would close by saying that with the way
you want the movie to just a little longer despite having a runtime of over two
hours, the movie does what it set out to do. IMDb could be a little more
generous to a movie that has revived the genre of "rom-com". Final
verdict: Catch it, if you already haven't.
-Shreeyesh Menon.
