Rewind / Review: (500) Days of Summer / Larisa

Love is incredibly complex. For many of us, love is either the best thing in the world, or the worst. It can make us feel like we’re on top of the world, while also holding the power to completely tear us apart. Some smile when thinking about it, while others cry, but what we can all agree on is that this mysterious emotion has the power to drive us crazy.

For people who have been in relationships, it’s easy to say that love is nothing like what is shown in most Hollywood movies. Frankly, those iconic clichéd love stories tend to set unrealistic expectations of love, and leave many of us feeling like we may never find a man committed enough to write us 365 letters, like Ryan Gosling in The Notebook.

Chivalry is dead; commitment in relationships is a common fear. Hollywood movies have rarely been able to capture the realities of love, though sometimes they come close. Director Marc Webb realistically portrayed a complex relationship in his first feature film, (500) Days of Summer (2009), and let’s just say that it’s the movie I’ve been waiting for. I personally love this movie so much, as I believe it portrays life so accurately and so beautifully.

During a relationship, sometimes we care about our significant other more than they care for us, though other times, it is the complete opposite. (500) Days of Summer is a perfect depiction of such one-sided relationships, but it also holds a deeper meaning. Throughout the film, Marc Webb subtly shadows the issue of loving the idea of someone, rather than the actual person, a problem faced by many.

It seems too often we are blinded by love, that we don’t realise we deserve much more than what someone is giving to us. We don’t realise our worth, we don’t realise our value, and that’s what keeps us from moving on with our lives. The raw truth and emotion conveyed throughout (500) Days of Summer, makes the film one that people relate to strongly.

Instead of the plot being revealed in chronological order, during the film we travel backwards and forwards through the relationship between the boy, Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and the girl, Summer (Zooey Deschanel). Marc Webb’s creative vision allows us to witness the early days of love and lust, to the later days when the couple inevitably grow apart. The alternating stages of their relationship emphasise the repetitive cycle of love we are all too familiar with, making this movie one of the most heart-aching of its genre.

It’s clear to many of us that there will be a day when we don’t feel butterflies in our stomach anymore, a time when we won’t dedicate most of our time talking to our significant other. Affection often wanes as time progresses and inevitably,  relationships can lose their spark. It’s a sad truth nobody wants to admit, but (500) Days of Summer handles this reality with elegance and grace.

There is one specific scene that tears me apart the most, and that is where we see a split screen of Tom’s expectation and reality of his future with Summer. In his expectations, we see the couple eventually get married and live a happy life together, however this is not the case in real life. The reality side of the screen shows Summer falling in love with somebody else, and Tom watching her slip away, unable to do anything. This short but significant scene is incredibly powerful in showing the audience what happens in real life. Sometimes we are Tom, other times we are Summer, and although the movie is sympathetic towards Tom, no character is at fault.

This fantastically directed movie has touched the hearts of many, including high school student Esther Park. “Though I have never experienced being in a relationship, let alone being in love, there is something about (500) Days of Summer that makes me feel as though I have been through all of it. The movie made me miss the relationship I never had! I guess Marc Webb does a great job in terms of making the audience really sympathise with the main character, and experience the emotions he was feeling,” she states. It just goes to show that you don’t have to experience love to fully appreciate this movie.

Whether you’re in love, heartbroken or have no experience with relationships, (500) Days of Summer is a movie you’ll be able to relate to, despite your current status. Love is a simple thing, that people make incredibly complicated. (500) Days of Summer does a phenomenal job in showing that whether simple or complex, love will always have the power to drive us
crazy.

Written by Larisa (15) edited by Jessica Ellicott (as part of the Film in Revolt writing mentorship program)