Feature Movie of the Week: 500 Days of Summer

A mighty pain to love it is,
And 'tis a pain that pain to miss;
But of all pains, the greatest pain
It is to love, but love in vain

- Abraham Cowley

I am a very strange kind of person who loves movies where the couple doesn't end up together. I guess I'm not really a sucker for 'happily ever afters' because I think in reality, there are far fewer 'happily ever afters' than there are in the movies. So on that pessimistic note, 500 Days of Summer is one of my favourite films, for the reason mentioned above, and so many more.
Written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber and directed by Marc Webb 500 Days of Summer follows the relationship between Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon- Levitt) and Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) and it's aftermath when Summer breaks up with Tom, who was still very much in love with her.

NARRATOR

Tom meets Summer on January 8th. 

He knows almost immediately she 

is who he has been searching for. 

This is a story of boy meets girl,

but you should know upfront, 

this is not a love story.

The film goes through the couple's good and bad times as Tom, alongside the audience, tries to retrace their relationship and see what, where and when it went wrong. But don't expect any huge epiphanic answers, the film stays grounded and raw all the way to the end as it presents a very realistic portrait of two very human situations; when the person you love doesn't love you as much as you love them and when the person you love just doesn't love you anymore. 
It turns the typical romantic comedy formula on it's head as boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, and then girl leaves boy.

Standout Performances

• Joseph Gordon-Levitt- This guy is a seriously good actor. I know that seems like a very general statement but I honestly don't know how else to describe him, he is just good at what he does. He stands out in everything I have seen him in (even his much younger self in 10 Things I Hate About You!) but his performance as Tom in this film is simply extraordinary. Gordon-Levitt's performance really allows the audience to feel how much Tom loves Summer, and how heartbroken he is when she dumps him. But what stands out most for me is his portrayal of a much more complicated emotion, where he still loves Summer, despite her breaking up with him, but at the same time he hates her for breaking his heart, but he doesn't want her to know either of these things, and he still wants her to be happy, but he also wants her back and it is this all of these confusing, stream of consciousness-esque emotions that Gordon-Levitt superbly bottles up in the subtlest of glances or gestures.

• Zooey Deschanel- She is as lovable and charming as always, from singing "Sugar Town" at karaoke to screaming 'penis' in a park. But Summer also has her slightly less lovable moments, namely when she breaks up with Tom and later gets engaged to another man, but Deschanel plays the role with the perfect balance of compassion, nonchalance and oblivion so that you can never really hate Summer, and nor can Tom, despite really wanting to. 

Memorable Scenes

• The conversation between Tom, Summer and their co-worker McKenzie that takes place at the bar after Summer sings karaoke. It starts out reasonably awkward (SUMMER: I named my cat after Springsteen, TOM: Okay, what was his name?, SUMMER: Bruce...) but then gets rather prolific. This is where we really learn about who Summer is and her perspective on love.

SUMMER

There's no such thing as love, it's fantasy 

• I always found something disturbingly funny about the scene in the park where Tom and Summer are both screaming 'penis', each time louder than before
• Tom and Summer's final scene together sitting on a park bench looking out over Los Angeles. It is really heartbreaking as it is the first real confrontation they have had since Summer's wedding and Tom actually gains the confidence to ask her what happened, why she all of a sudden changed her whole perspective on love and commitment. Her response is rough, and I'm sure that no matter what she said, Tom would have been hurt regardless, but ultimately I love her brutal honesty, it's not something you often hear in romance films. There's no, "I still love you no matter what" or "There will always be a special place for you in my heart", the conversation simply goes like this:

TOM

You never wanted to be anybody's 

girlfriend and now you're somebody's wife

SUMMER

It surprised me too

TOM

I don't think I'll ever understand that. 

I mean it doesn't make sense.

SUMMER

It just happened

TOM

That's what I don't understand, 

what just happened?

SUMMER

 I just woke up one day and I knew

TOM

Knew what

SUMMER

What I was never sure of with you

Music Moments
This movie has some wicked tunes so get ready for an overload.

• Us- Regina Spektor

• Sweet Disposition- The Temper Trap

• Quelqu'un m'a dit- Carla Bruni

• You Make My Dreams- Hall & Oates

• She's Got You High- Mumm Ra