(500) Days of Summer Review

Now that September 1st is looming on the horizon and my Netflix DVDs are doomed to disappear, I’ve been racing through my queue trying to watch as many movies as I can. I picked (500) Days of Summer because I heard lots of good things about it when it came out two years ago. I never got around to seeing it until now, but I’m glad I did. It was very…different. But an enjoyable kind of different.

I didn’t really know what to expect when I saw this movie because I literally knew nothing about it, other than that it did well when it was released. I think what made this movie great is that it was so real. Yes technically it’s categorized as a romantic comedy, but this movie digs in deeper to the real, human emotions we all go through in relationships – both the good and the bad.

If you didn’t already know the meaning of the title of the movie, you will know five minutes in, so I’ll just tell you now. 500 days of summer doesn’t refer to the season but rather a girl that the protagonist, Tom, meets named Summer. It’s a story about their relationship, and it is told in a very unique way. The story skips from day to day unchronologically. Being an editor myself, I love to see this kind of stuff in movies. Film is a great medium to control time, and can be very powerful when done correctly. This movie executed it very well, using it to bring tension and meaning to the film.

The characters were…interesting. Tom is a very relatable character – just another guy looking for love. Summer is very quirky, almost reminding me of a much more mature Juno. Although her character was just a bit too strange to be completely believable, she embodied how frustrating and confusing women can be when it comes to relationships. This was another point about the movie that struck me because it is a romantic comedy from a male point of view. Tom finds himself constantly frustrated with Summer’s on-and-off antics, but at the end of the day he still loves her and just wants to be with her. It was definitely interesting to see a relationship through a male’s eyes, and it’s a nice change from the typical boy-meets-girl kind of story.

On a technical note, they did some shots that were in split screen that we pretty cool. Some of them were just kind of artsy and unnecessary, but there was one particular scene that was really amazing. Usually I really don’t like split screen because it’s so distracting, but when it is used to actually convey something, it’s pretty amazing.

Despite some definite “wtf” moments in this movie, I liked it overall. It’s not exactly a romantic comedy, but you will get some good laughs. It’s not exactly a happy, pick-me-up movie, but if you want something unique and deep to watch, add this to your queue. Or, post-September 1st, go out and rent it.

 

I think I’m actually going to miss Netflix DVDs…

Kiley ❤