One of the better of the many inventive moments in (500) Days of Summer includes a split screen: on one side we see Tom’s (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) Expectation of what his evening with Summer (Zooey Deschanel) will be like and on the other we see Reality. It’s timed perfectly. The Expectation is just a few seconds ahead of The Reality so we can compare and contrast them, but eventually they’re in sync just in time to provide the right comedic effect. It’s a terrific scene.
If you read this review, you’ll have high expectations for Marc Webb’s (500) Days of Summer, and I don’t think the reality will disappoint you. It’s a funny, engaging and sometimes very sad story, but it’s always entertaining.
If you’ve ever been in a long-term relationship, then you’ve lived at least 400 of the 500 “Days of Summer.” But while they’re familiar situations, there’s nothing familiar about the movie. It jumps from, for example, Day (40) to Day (279) then back to Day (55); the jumps illuminate the different ways the relationship grows and/or deteriorates. It’s like a romantic Pulp Fiction. It tells its story out of order and somehow it makes more sense than if it was traditionally linear. Ever been in relationship trouble that you didn’t see coming? Tom and Summer are the same way. They and the audience don’t see the warning signs, but since the story’s told out of order, you experience their moments of clarity as they do. You’re right there with Tom as he thinks, “Oh yeah, I should have seen that coming.”
The strong leads make the film even better. The revelation would be Gordon-Levitt, most familiar as the kid on 3rd Rock From The Sun. He’s gotten good reviews for some smaller films (and he’s in this summer’s upcoming GI Joe, so he’s about to get his biggest audience yet). But this is my first exposure to his work as a grownup. Tom’s an idealistic everyman who believes “the one” is out there, and at first sight, he’s convinced she’s Summer. You root for him hoping he’s right, and you feel for him when it looks like he could be wrong. Yet as relatable as he is, he’s a handsome and convincing movie leading man. He’s got a great future ahead of him.
Finally, a movie uses Deschanel properly as the artistic, adorable, flighty, worldly object of desire. In the last year, she’s had pretty much that same role in two very bad movies: Yes Men and Gigantic. The chemistry with the lead actors in those movies failed because her character was obviously so far beyond those guys. Here, Summer’s matched with a potential equal, and they have a chemistry you want to keep watching.
The movie uses music to great effect – they’re both into indie rock. It’s their shared love of the Smiths that brings them together in the first place. But sorry indie fans: it’s actually Hall & Oates who steal the soundtrack in the movie’s second best scene.
Mark down the day you read this as Day (1) and when you see the movie on Day (X) remember I told you Expectation will match Reality.