Plenty to love about ‘(500) Days’ (4.5/5)

(500) Days of Summer

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel.
Directed by: Marc Webb.
Rating: PG-13 for sexual material and language.
Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.

Right at the start, the narrator tells us that “(500) Days of Summer” most definitely is not a love story.

And, though you’re made aware of the fact from the beginning and maybe repeat it to yourself throughout the hour-and-a-half film, it does seem suspiciously like a love story. A romantic comedy, perhaps, or maybe even a nuanced “dromance” (dramatic romance).

But it’s not. Not really.

In the end, in its most basic form, “(500) Days of Summer” is about human relationships. More specifically, of a breakup. It’s about how the relationship of a boy (Tom Hansen — played by the impeccable and suddenly mature Joseph Gordon-Levitt of “3rd Rock from the Sun,” “Angels in the Outfield” and “10 Things I Hate About You” fame) and of a girl (Summer Finn — delightfully portrayed by the fun and quirky Zooey Deschanel whom you may know from “Elf,” “Yes Man” and “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”) begins, builds and gradually falls apart.

Tom is a young greeting card writer with aspirations for architecture and true love. When Summer becomes an assistant at the card company, Tom is immediately smitten. Her charm and winning smile, coupled with her love for the band The Smiths, is more than enough to push Tom over the edge.

Tom’s architectural tendencies give him the strength to conceptualize, visualize and construct something out of nothing. So when the relationship with the “love of his life” starts crumbling to the ground, Tom is left grasping with little understanding to Summer’s mindset.

Screenplay writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber made a risky but invaluable decision to not tell the story chronologically. Instead, the film skips about to different aspects of the relationship, revealing a bit near the breakup, a bit when they first meet, a bit during the best of times and a bit during the worst of times.

This nonlinear storyline heavily contributes to the film by forcing the audience to become more invested in the emotions of the characters rather than waiting for the “grand ending” just before the credits roll.

It would be very easy to hate Summer. Despite immediately telling Tom that she does not believe in love and is not looking for a serious, committed relationship, it wouldn’t take much to think that Summer was using him. After all, how could she not see how crazy in love with her Tom is?

But Deschanel’s performance leaves you loving Summer almost as much as Tom does.

The complexities of love as shown in Tom and Summer’s relationship are juxtaposed against the greeting cards they work to produce. The cards are flat and superficial. They are someone else’s words, used out of obligation. It’s no wonder Tom and Summer soon have a problem communicating.

An added bonus to this movie is the soundtrack. The light, unconventional sounds of Deschanel-esque Regina Spektor complement the film and Deschanel’s character beautifully. Too, director Marc Webb’s background of music videos lend a fresh feel to the film (and actually, Webb directed two of Spektor’s music videos).

This film was opened in limited theaters in July but was finally released in mainstream cinemas last Wednesday.

Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt also participated in Webb’s promotional “Bank Heist” skit, which can be found on YouTube under the name “(500) Days of Summer [Bank Dance].” It has little (if anything) to do with the actual movie, but will give you a taste of the fun attitude in the film complete with a song that Deschanel herself sings.

4 1/2 of 5 stars