I didn't see this movie for free, but I still had an amazing experience seeing it. Like Public Enemies, I saw (500) Days of Summer introduced by its director (and in this case, star Joseph Gordon-Levitt was in attendance as well), and a hilarious short film was played beforehand. In one sense, (500) Days of Summer can be described as a romantic comedy, in that it is a funny movie about the romantic relationship between a man and a woman, but this is a "romantic comedy" the way Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a "romantic comedy". Unlike big studio romantic comedies, the drama in this film feels real and there certainly isn't a Hollywood ending. The opening narration states that the film is not a love story, but I disagree with that. This is a love story, but it is a story of unrequited love.
The movie is told over the period of 500 days, and is often shown out of order. A marker denoting what day it is pops up occassionally to tell us when the following scenes take place in the chronology of Tom and Summer's relationship (the number is always bracketed by parentheses, like so: (488), hence the movies title). Tom grew up believing in true love, soul mates, and that kind of stuff. He works for a greeting card company, where he puts these feelings to good use by writing sentimental cards (this career path was not selected for that reason though; he studied architecture, but took an easier path instead of applying himself). Summer grew up jaded about the notion of "true love" because of various experiences in her childhood, notably her parents' divorce. She is very beautiful and sweet, and is wary of the men who fall for her, because she is afraid that they are only attracted to her physical beauty and outward personality, rather than who she is on deeper levels. Her sweetness defines her social self, but that quality doesn't always define her personal self. She meets Tom when she gets a job as the assistant to Tom's boss, and after a rocky first couple of meetings, they begin dating.
However, the audience (but not Tom) soon realizes that Tom and Summer are looking for different things in their relationship. Tom thinks that he has finally met "the One", while Summer just wants to have fun and be friends (albeit friends who have sex with each other). Summer cares for Tom as a friend (possibly a little more than a friend based on something the narrator said), but she never feels the deeper feelings for Tom that Tom feels about her. This causes Tom to go from euphoria to near-suicidal depression, which is juxtaposed by showing Day (150) and Day (400) next to each other. And yet, even after feeling such depression, Tom is willing to set himself up for these feelings again when he believes that she is finally ready to commit to him the way he has to her. The narrator points out that Tom has expected and experienced far different things throughout his life, and that he still hasn't learned that expectations only lead to being let down.
The (500) days come to an end when Tom is able to accept that about his life (and when something happens to give the title of my post greater meaning). The unrequited love helps allow for self-discovery and helps Tom realize that a good life isn't contingent on finding true love. The journey is at times hilarious (the dance sequence was probably my favorite scene in the movie), heartbreaking, and moving. (500) Days of Summer is further proof that movies about rocky romantic relationships don't have to be awful cliche-fests.
Up next: Far, far away...
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