(500) Days of Summer
Director: Marc Webb
Year: 2009
Running time: 95 mins
Country: USA
In this current epoch, a time in which the romantic comedy landscape is so shamelessly saturated with crass, superficial fodder, it is decidedly refreshing when a film such as (500) Days of Summer sprouts up organically, like an iridescent flower, from the surrounding manure and, freshly plucked, permeates the atmosphere with a clean fragrance of originality.
This first time feature film for prolific music video auteur Marc Webb, and untried scriptwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, follows the romantic trajectory of Tom Hansen, a somewhat foolishly idealistic Angeleno“hipster”, stagnating in a shallow and unfulfilling job. This recusant’s foundations are shaken by the welcome interpolation of the enigmatic and bewitching Summer Finn, simultaneously infiltrating both his workplace and heart. Summer holds a cynical view of love, broken by her parents divorce at an early age, she too finds solace in the bittersweet melancholy of The Smiths- a fact that cements Tom’s attraction to her. Extremely capricious in nature, Summer’s amiability blows in and out on a callous wind, while Tom is left addled and defenceless though haplessly infatuated to the point of masochism; and even in her wake, Tom is unable to move past the memory of their time together, vowing to win her back, and setting in motion his recollection of various moments they shared.
The romance is told, initially, in reverse, commencing post break-up, and chaotically traversing the intermediate moments, sewn together like a patchwork quilt. A nostalgia driven journey through his diary-like memory bank, the constantly flipping narrative evokes feelings within the viewer similar to the confusion felt on the part of Tom in regards to the breakdown of his and Summer’s romance. A successful tool to a degree, though at points the disarray works to its detriment, with certain shifts that are overly confounding. The soundtrack of the film, a finely cultivated mix of alternative yet prevailingly accessible artists (led by The Smiths & Regina Spektor), helps assimilate the audience to the fluctuating moods of our protagonist, framing many a moment with an impeccably complemented musical accompaniment and allowing certain scenes a striking emotional resonance.
The dialogue, for the most part, flows natural and earnest, sparked by an undercurrent of emotional honesty. However, the rhetoric emitted from Tom’s admittedly amusing, yet excessively precocious little sister walks a fine line between endearing and annoyingly counterfeit. The utilisation of a third person omniscient narrator, acting as a whimsical raconteur and serving up insightful snippets of Tom’s psyche, was a daring and welcome device employed within the film- though at one point, after an extended hiatus; a rather jarring effect is elicited by its sudden return.
The films finest gifts, however, are Webb’s, particularly his undiluted artistry for all things visually eccentric and the sheer audacity with which he implements this skill. This includes an inspired black and white tribute montage to French New Wave films, Fellini and Ingrid Bergman, a split-screen scene showcasing “reality” vs “expectation”, a flawlessly executed creative transition, and perhaps most notably, a surprising and delightful musical interlude, which is used as an embodiment of Tom’s utter ecstasy and joyful abandon after a successful night with Summer. This sequence transitions seamlessly into a later memory, contrasting perfectly between the glory of love and the utter despair of heartbreak.
Archetypal Indie darlings, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Tom) and Zooey Deschanel (Summer), are perfectly paired and equally charming protagonists, exhibiting an easy chemistry and bestowing their characters layers additional to what is written for them, for there is an innate fragility to both Tom and Summer, one which is masked by a humoured indifference. This marks a creditably recognizable characteristic intrinsic in many young people today, and is a discernment that speaks to the distinctive qualities possessed by the two soulful leads, who often bring such a sense of introspective depth to their roles.
Though not without visible cracks in its mosaic façade, (500) Days is essentially a resplendent and bittersweet serenade to love, heartbreak and everything in between.Moments spliced together into an engaging pastiche of warm humour, sincerity and ingenuity; and awakening the long slumbering buds of romance in the romantic comedy genre, the film carries a tangible sense of the love and care that went into its production, an agreeable sentiment which lingers with the viewer for (many) days after.
-Shay Garrett