(500) Days of Summer
Premise - For 500 days, the thought of Summer Finn preoccupies the mind of Tom Hansen incessantly, a loving infatuation that convinces him she is the one. The film presents the course of Tom and Summer's relationship in a nonlinear manner, showcasing how Tom felt about Summer on days varying from 1-500.
Review - This has always been in my top five favorite movies, maybe even top three, or even top two. When I was an emotional, romantic teenager, I overly-identified with Tom and was obsessed with this movie to an extent that now makes me cringe. In the eleventh grade, I chose this movie as "The movie to represent my life" for a class project that now highly embarrasses me. But the praise is warranted - this is a damn good film that defined the indie romance genre. The soundtrack is iconic (and I still worship all of the songs to this day), the editing is snappy and quirky, not to mention the most identifying feature of this film - its non-linearity that, in many ways, inspired my young self for many years to want to be a screenwriter.
I think you can tell a lot about a person by how they feel about the film. For instance, my cringey over-identification with Tom as a teenager says a lot about how I tend to over-romanticize (and is that bad, as the film suggests fate and "the one" are still real?), and yet my love for Summer says a lot about my respect for women's self-determination. I know a LOT of men who hate the character of Summer for turning down Tom which, in my opinion, says a lot about how men view women...
Stating again how much this film occupied my thoughts in my teen years, I'm nervous to go look at what I had written about the characters in high school. Admittedly, I wrote about this film for a college admissions essay into a film program (ahem, didn't get in...), but I was a damn good writer in high school so I know whatever I wrote was well-argued, I'm just curious if I'd agree with the analysis in adulthood. Thank god I couldn't find it even with some digging through old files. I remember I wrote about the differences between reality and expectations - a theme that was visually explored in a split-screen between Tom's reality and expectations with the incredible Regina Spektor singing "Hero" in the background. Did I say iconic yet? (99/100)
Quote - There are SO many iconic quotes that my friends used to quote to each other all the time, such as the legendary, "Roses are red, Violets are blue, Fuck you whore" "Or she took a shit on my face. Literally." "Literally?" "No, not literally. What's wrong with you?"
I always have liked the exchange, "What happened? Why didn't any of them work out?" "What always happens - life."
What to watch for - The "You Make My Dreams" dance sequence with Joseph Gordon-Levitt felt career-defining for him.
If you liked this movie, I'd recommend About Time!
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