MOVIE REVIEW - 500 DAYS OF SUMMER

By Leah Trottier

Country of Origin: U.S.A.

Year of release: 2009                                            It is highly recommended that you listen to the                     .                                                                                         soundtrack to have the full experience

                                                                                        while you embark on the inside scoop on            .                                                                                                       500 Days Of Summer:

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER (2009)                      

Cast

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom

Zooey Deschanel as Summer

Geoffrey Arend as McKenzie

Chloe Grace Moretz as Rachel

Matthew Gray Gubler as Paul

Clark Gregg as Vance

Rachel Boston as Alis

Minka Kelly as Girl

Directed By: Marc Webb

Cinematographer: Eric Steelburg

Screenplay By: Scott Neustadtler & Michael H. Weber

The film made its debut at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. In Europe, 500 Days premiered in Switzerland as the opening film of the 62nd Locarno Film Festival. Filmed independently, it was picked up for distribution by Fox Searchlight Pictures and opened in US and Canadian limited release on July 17, 2009, later expanding to wide release in the US on August 7, 2009.  It was later also released on September 2, 2009, in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and opened in Australia on September 17, 2009. It was proved a great success when it received standing ovations, cheering, and endless positive reviews. Later, during its full opening weekend, the film grossed twenty-seven times its original budget cost, making it one of the most successful "sleeper hits" of the year.

The film’s screenplay was written by Scott Neustadtler & Michael H. Weber, who have also written Pink Panther, and The Fault in our Stars, the one being comedy, the other Drama or romance. So with 500 Days of Summer, they combined the two to create a brilliant romantic comedy.

Looking at the main plot’s relation to human events, it is an accurate representation of a first-hand experience of a man losing his love. In fact, it is said that Scott Neustadtler was dumped by an English girl, inspiring him to write the movie, which claims to be “not a love story”. Although it could be argued either way, they proposed that point because it does not follow the classic, spiteful and misogynistic love story plot: Intro when the two meet, it takes them time to fall in love, they know they are right for each other, something tries to bring them apart, the relationship breaks, but in the end they get back together again, and everybody is happy. The plot of 500 Days of Summer is far more complex than that. It is presented as a non-linear narrative, as it jumps from various days within the 500-day span of Tom and Summer’s relationship. It begins at the start when the two meet at their workplace, and begin to grow a mutual attraction for each other. This attraction is carried-out in different ways, as Tom believes in true love and has hopes that they will be together forever, while Summer does not believe in true-love, and does not want a boyfriend.  She does not believe in possession, or commitment, while Tom’s philosophy is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum.

            

         Collecting facts in previous explanations, we can gather that the main theme in the movie is not as much love as it is reality. Tom is a greeting-card maker, who failed to get into architecture school. The narrator tells us:

“The boy, Tom Hansen of Margate, New

 Jersey, grew up believing that he'd

 never truly be happy until the day

 he met his... "soulmate."    

This belief stemmed from early

               exposure to sad British pop music

               and a total misreading of the

               movie, "The Graduate."”

While the idea of soul-mates may be something straight out of the movies, one can be very happy with numerous people. But then what happens when the relationship runs out of steam? Then you just have two people who really aren’t that compatible. That’s what happens here. Only Tom is completely oblivious to it and instead Summer is forced to be the evil voice of reason. While no one in the film is a villain, Summer, at times, is painted that way. 

In reality though, she did nothing wrong as she had told Tom from the start that she wanted nothing serious.  Towards the end of the film, the audience is almost forced to hate her. We as an audience, especially in romantic comedies, have been trained to believe that the two main characters will end up together no matter what, which is obviously not too realistic. Here it hits very close to home. We find out that there will be no happy ending for the two as a couple, as it is revealed that Summer is now engaged. Tom angrily walks off, tears in his eyes and heartbreaking music playing. Tom recalls his experiences in the relationship in a mix-matched order, making it relatable to us, as an audience would recall past loves in non-chronological order.

At the end of the movie, there is a sense of emptiness and disappointment, as well as satisfaction. The two genres of emotions go hand-in-hand because it is in a way satisfying to feel like we have been taken on a journey of a realistic man and woman’s relationship.  The fact that it is so realistic leaves us with the real-life feeling of regret and loss.  At the end of the movie, there is a quick twist in events as Tom meets a new woman, ironically named Autumn, representing a fresh beginning with a new possibility. 

Tom is able to have his mind open to the new start because he is finally beginning to understand that in life there are always so many new opportunities that arise, but it takes an open-minded person to grasp the little ones. As the saying goes, “when one door closes, another one opens”, which is exactly the message that is portrayed at the end of the movie. 

The narration in the movie is used effectively, adding comedic relief, explanation of events, and a key into Tom’s head. At the beginning of the movie, the narrator states, “This is a story of boy meets girl. But I should tell you up front that it is not a love story”.

NARRATOR:

            “If Tom had learned anything... it

                    was that you can't ascribe great

                    cosmic significance to a simple

                    earthly event. Coincidence. That's

                    all anything ever is. Nothing more

                    than coincidence.”

“It took a long time but Tom had

                    finally learned. There are no

                    miracles. There's no such thing as

                    fate. Nothing is meant to be. He

                    knew. He was sure of it now”

After this narration is when his views are changed by meeting Autumn. It goes from the lowest of the low, to the new beginning.  The script is very well written.  Few lines into the script, Tom voices,

”Tom: It's official. I'm in love with Summer.

[while Montage of Summer plays]

Tom: I love her smile. I love her hair. I love her knees. I love how she licks her lips before she talks. I love her heart-shaped birthmark on her neck. I love it when she sleeps. I love it how she makes me feel”

As the days change, and in Tom’s eyes, Summer becomes more evil, the exact same montage plays, but with a drastically different voice-over.:

Tom: [Montage of Summer] "I hate her crooked teeth. I hate her 1960s haircut. I hate her knobby knees. I hate her cockroach-shaped splotch on her neck. I hate the way she smacks her lips before she talks. I hate the way she sounds when she laughs. " [Fade to black as Swayze's 'She's Like the Wind' plays briefly]

In terms of music, it is incredibly well planned-out. The director Marc Webb has directed music videos by Fergie and Chemical Romance, thus, knowing effective songs to put in appropriate places in the movie.  Webb uses music by “The Smiths”,  Regina Spektor, Mychael Danna and Rob Simonsen, Simon&Garfunkel, Feist, Hall&Oates. Mychael Danna and Rob Simonsen, The Temper Tramp, Black Lips, Doves, Carla Bruni, Wolfmother, Mumm-Ra, Meagan Smith, and She&Him.  All are used to convey mood, portray emotion,  and to fill-in the words the characters do not voice.

As the film is an artistic one, the scene where Tom is over-joyed to wake up the morning after he hit a home run with Summer, a musical number begins to the song, “You Make my Dreams Come True” by Hall&Oates. It would have seemed out-of-place and cheesy to see a random flash-mob dancing with Tom in the streets on his way to work, but Webb effectively incorporated the scene to portray the highest state of happiness Tom reaches in arguably the whole movie.

There is a particular scene in the movie, which in my opinion is absolutely brilliant and very well executed.  It contrasts Tom’s expectations against reality:

 It is given very straight-forward, as the screen is split in two, playing the two opposite perspectives. As the scene progresses, they become more and more drastically opposite. The viewer is torn with the sub-conscious emotional decision whether to follow the expectation scene or the reality scene, though we are drawn to expectation scene because it reflects a positive romance. It reaches all audiences, giving both sides of the story, and here is an excellent example of how the music is used to add incredible emotion. At the end of the scene, when the reality side fills the whole entire screen again, it shows Tom walking on an empty night street with only the dim streetlights to guide away. He stands in the street, and a sketch-like concrete effect is coloured over the screen, symbolizing that the relationship has come to a halt, and Tom feels as though there is nowhere else to turn.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKTrx7pLKXM

There are many times in the movie where symbolism is hidden. For example, when Tom’s heart is broken, he rushes down the staircase. The scene is shown from top-view, making Tom appear vulnerable, and symbolizing his feeling towards him and Summer’s relationship: The staircase is winding, going round and round, getting darker the further he runs in a downwards spiral. The cinematography for the movie is phenomenal, as close-ups, framing, angles and all types of shots are used effectively. There were parts in the movie when it gave the sense that it was incredibly planned out, with events, action, scenes, shots, music and emotion connected.

The characters were very well cast. The story essentially focuses on the story of Tom and Summer, as it even introduces, “This is a story of boy meets girl”, so there is little camera time focused on other characters, in comparison to the entire movie.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the character of Tom well, portraying a love-hungry man, yearning for true love. It is a challenge for him, observing his real-life persona drastically opposing that of his character. In reality, Joseph is much like Summer’s character: fun, talkative, confident, while his character of Tom is a thinker, lost hope, insecure, and awkward at times. Zooey, being naturally corky and comedic, is challenged by playing a not only free-spirited role, but displays an array of serious emotions, as well.  It is just as important when casting for any film or television, for the actors to have chemistry with one another, as it is to have talented actors. Without that connection, the film would be dull, due to the fact that 90 percent of the movie time is focused on those two characters.

Another way that Webb makes it realistic for the audience is using settings that we experience in our every-day lives. For example, there are a number of scenes shot in IKEA, as the couple pretend as though they were a married couple, lying in the store beds, testing the store sinks, acting as children, at the bliss of their relationship. This could be considered as product-placement, yet it is done plainly, effectively, but discretely. When we watch the scene, we do not first notice that it is an advertisement for IKEA, but rather that we ourselves have walked the same floors as them, just as though Tom and Summer are real people. That is clever product-placement in form of setting, rather than in tangible object form.

When this movie was made in 2009, there were many large-scale events that took place world-wide, filling the media:

January 7 - Russia cuts of natural gas supplies to Europe in a major energy dispute

January 20 - Barack Obama is inaugurated as President of the United States

April 1 - Albania and Croatia join NATO

April 2 - the G2 summit in London meeting about the world financial crisis

June 11 - The H1N1 virus is named a global pandemic

June 25 - Michael Jackson dies. The year was marked by celebrity deaths, and this one topped them all.

August 4 - Korean leader Kim Jon Il pardons two American journalists, with diplomatic assistance from Bill Clinton

September 29 - An earthquake triggers a tsunami in Samoa

Fall 2009 East Anglia emails are hacked and released

December 7 - the Copenhagen Climate Change conference begins. Highly anticipated and big news, it is questionable if it was productive

Through all the significant news-breakers covered by news channels worldwide, none of it seemed to have any effect on the production of the movie. This is part of the meticulous beauty created within the film.  Empathy is experienced by both characters to some degree, just enough to be on a human level. But due to the characters, they do not give out generous amounts of empathy for one another, which is the leading reason why the relationship did not succeed. In terms of evil in the story, Tom perceives Summer to be almost heartless and evil as the relationship goes on. Looking at it from Summer’s perspective though, she would not be considered “evil”, but rather free-spirited, which I believe is true gift to possess.

The shots used in the film were done creatively, with emphasis on the mood it is intending to portray. It almost felt like there were two styles of the filming: one artsy and daring and the other locked down and direct. I loved the shot of Tom in the conference room when he talks about being lied to with the big Santa Claus just out of focus behind him--which of course hearkens back to an early conversation between him and Summer. And the sequence in the train with the golden light covering Tom and Summer's faces was gorgeous.  



 Cinematographer Eric Steelburg addresses,

“Feature film cinematography is all about responsibility to the story and setting the appropriate tone, while being as unobtrusive and transparent as possible. When you make a scene that is effective and strong, a kind of beauty is born out of it. Marc said that fi lm had the right texture and emotional tone for this story. After I read the script, I was in perfect agreement.” Widescreen framing was used because in the majority of the film, Tom and Summer are the only ones in the shot.” A widescreen angled lens was appropriate, as the majority of the film frames only Summer and Tom. 

“We also used it to isolate characters in wide shots when their relationship isn’t working. In addition, we knew that we’d be shooting entirely on practical locations, and the 2.40 frame gave me a little more room to hide lights overhead and dolly track below.”

To help promote the film, Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel starred in the debut episode of Microsoft Zune and Mean Magazine's "Cinemash" series. In the episode, they "mash" the characters from the film Sid and Nancy with story elements from 500 Days of Summer.

Marc Webb created a music video as a companion piece to the film, titled "The Bank Heist". It features Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt dancing to "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?", a song by Deschanel's folk group She & Him.

In conclusion, analyzing the film from the perspective of someone who would like to work in the film industry, it has been a great honour to delve into some of the hidden details of the movie. The conflict between Summer and Tom, the internal one between Summer and herself, and Tom and himself, are merely building blocks to the artistic piece that appeals to arguably every single type of audience.  The film was done in an artistic manner, with revolutionary cinematography. The script, music, directing, acting, cinematography and production combined contributes to an incredible modern film. Normally I would have criticism in terms of picking apart details and altering certain aspects of the film, but for this one I am shocked to realize that it is so effectively done, that I have no complaints.  500 Days of Summer may not have been the most enjoyable for Tom, but it sure was a thought-stemming experience for me.

WORKS CITED:

"(500) Days of Summer (2009) - Quotes - IMDb." IMDb - Movies, TV and Celebrities. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2013. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1022603/quotes>.

"(500) Days of Summer - Box Office Data, DVD Sales, Movie News, Cast Information - The Numbers." The Numbers - Movie Box Office Data, Film Stars, Idle Speculation. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2013. <http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2009/500DS.php>.

"(500) Days of Summer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., 13 June 2017. Web. 19 June 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(500)_Days_of_Summer>.

"Eric STeelburg." focus on film. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2013. <motion.kodak.com/motion/uploadedFiles/inCamera_oct2008_juno.pdf>.

Michael H. Weber, & Scott Neustadtler . "500 Days of Summer Script at IMSDb.." The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb). N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2013. <http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/500-Days-of-Summer.html>.

Straightedge is Beautiful. "(500) Days of Summer-Thoughts and Analysis | straightedgeisbeautiful." straightedgeisbeautiful | Get to know about Angel Cervantes…and Pop Culture. Explore the archives and i guarantee you will find something you like.. N.p., 22 May 2011. Web. 20 June 2013. <http://straightedgeisbeautiful.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/500-days-of-summer-thoughts-and-analysis/>