Review of (500) Days of Summer (2009) by Dave M — 09 Sep 2012

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, one of my favorite actors of this generation, plays Tom, a frustrated architect that is forced to work for a mostly ridiculous place writing affection cards for people in love or in need of sentimental comfort. The office of the job looks like the editorial quarters of a magazine, and at least 60% percent of the employees are focused on the writing of the cards' messages, but Tom usually does most of the job for them. The rutine goes a long way for Tom until he gets to meet Summer (Zooey Deschanel) an assistant girl who is working with their boss. Tom inevitably falls in love with her, but the approximation of the love he feels for her is a crude and realistic process that includes hours of distracted meditation and the uncomfortable urge to express his feelings towards her in the utmost possible way. It gets even more frustrating for Tom when he discovers that Summer does not believe in love, and behaves mostly like a twelve year old when it comes to relationships. Though Tom manages to get involved in a relationship with Summer, the result is a thick and harsh contemplation of Summer's own resolution and ultimate maturity, which causes Tom to get lost in his own demons and inadequacies.

The script is most likely based on personal experiences that have later been analized with a more objective cunning, and "(500) Days of Summer" is a very intelligent film for its genre that prefers to explore the existential elements and mental complexities of its characters, and the convulsion the latter causes with their affectional side. Not only does the film succeed by making Tom's catharsis our own, but also some scenes are brilliantly made. Specifically the "Realities & Expectations" comparison, and the scene on which everyone gives a point about what they believe love to be, but Tom doesn't find a single word that describes the way he feels. And some scenes are also hilarious, like the "You know what I want" dialogue and when Tom feels so joyful that he sees himself as Han Solo in a mirror.

Director Marc Webb, who also directed "The Amazing Spider-Man" and some fantastic "Green Day" music videos, has managed to guide the actors and cameras into making a reality-based story that punches the minds and hearts of the audience like a thunderstroke.