(500) Days of Summer is a unique taste of genius in a world filled with
cookie-cutter styled romantic comedies. The film follows the story of Tom, and
his heart throbbing quest to find and hold onto true love. The woman who he
believes he is in love with, Summer, is just as mysterious as she is beautiful,
and despite the feelings he felt for her, she still did not believe that true
love exists. Completely defying the laws of the romantic comedy genre, the
couple does not get together in the end and go their separate ways. Summer ends
up experiencing the feeling of love for the first time with an unnamed man, and
Tom experiences hope in the closing moments as he meets Autumn, a blatant
symbol for the “other fish in the sea” idiom.
I thoroughly enjoyed the non-sequential aspect of the story telling. The
film was presented in a manner that gave the audience multiple perspectives,
jumping back and forth between a 501-day period of time. I enjoyed the artistic style during many
parts as well. The contrast of blue and orange was very prominent through the
film. Summer would always wear blue and would be the only character to do so.
(With the exception of the post-sex dancing scene, in which everyone wears it.)
The blue feels welcoming at times, providing a sensation of freedom and youth;
while at other times gives the audience a cold sense of hopelessness and
darkness.
The film also utilizes a ‘split screen’ method at times, which contrasts
the two protagonists, their alternate viewpoints, and ultimately the
expectations of Tom with the harsh revelation of reality. Marc Webb brings out
the best of a will-written script, and has blessed the audience with a
refreshing new taste of the rom-com genre in a piece that hopefully will stand
the test of time.
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