Review of (500) Days of Summer (2009) by Robert H — 13 Aug 2016

My initial reaction after finishing this is "Wow! How charming!" That.

Kind of sums up my overall feeling about 500 DAYS OF SUMMER, although.

The narrative turns take you through a much wider range of emotion. The.

Basic plot is of the "boy meets girl" variety, with the "boy" being.

Played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the "girl," Zooey Deschanel.

However, this is not your typical romantic film. Zooey Deschanel is the.

"Summer" of the title, and the story hops backwards and forwards.

Through Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer's 500 day relationship.

For starters, the broken-up chronology, although somewhat of a cliché.

At this point, was useful insofar as it withheld plot secrets until the.

Right moment, regulating the stream of information toward the viewer.

And maintaining interest. Of course, it helps that the two leads are.

Quite likable and have pretty good chemistry together, in that.

Awkward, post-modern way. I also thought that the message about.

Fate/destiny being an illusory concept rather apropos in a society that.

Has (largely) moved beyond traditional gender roles, as the film.

Demonstrates to a high degree. In a world where those kind of barriers.

Come down, it can be scary and more confusing, but that's often the.

Beauty of it as well. Without things prewritten or having to conform to.

A set "script," we are free to interpret events as we choose and mold.

Our lives to the form we desire. The only cog in the film's machine is,.

Unfortunately, Tom, who initially displays a dangerous level of.

Complacency and hesitancy, which proves detrimental to his relationship.

With Summer. By contrast, Summer is a strong, but not invulnerable,.

Female character. I really liked her, whereas Tom had to grow on me.

(development!). Overall, the film is certainly a shot in the arm to the.

Well-worn romantic dramedy. There were some nice meta touches, i.e., a.

Dance sequence, and a split-screen sequence which shows "Expectation.

Vs. Reality." Some of the social commentary did seem a little.

On-the-nose, and it didn't exactly move me emotionally in the greatest.

Way, but I laughed a lot and was constantly thinking about the message.

The film portrayed. So, definitely one to check out if you haven't.

Already.