500 Days of Summer

For about the last month or so, I have been watching films that just did not do it for me. "The Boat That Rocked" was decent, but I had clearly built up my hopes for it to be amazing and it just wasn't. So soon I found myself watching 500 days with two friends and it saved the movie industry for me.

Firstly, the whole sequence of events was brilliant. The counting of days and breaking the story into fragments, going back and forth from relationship to break-up was ingenious. Combined with the scene in which Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is telling his friends and sister what happened, the story line becomes his feelings. Feelings anyone faces in a break-up: in your mind you simply go over and over things, through moments of happiness and of sorrow. It seems to create another layer to the whole film and talks to you through what is currently happening but also through what Tom must feel at the moment.

I loved the "expectations" "reality" sequence. Once again it draws the viewer into the character's mind in a way I have not seen a film do so far. It is what we all do when we think about dates, parties or any other big events. Reality... well loneliness, perhaps the most unromantic first kiss in the world, being alone with a bottle of beer, or wandering the streets alone. You pick one.

Scene of the main character leaving the party into the street with the street being erased just made me sincerely happy.

But perhaps most importantly for me, the film did not follow the standard "chickflick" plot and ending. I have been frustrated by those (the kind of "The Prince & Me", which my housemates made me watch... followed by the usual "I want a boyfriend" routine) since I saw "Spread" and this really was a breath of fresh air. I was quietly hoping for this and telling myself I didn't want a bad taste in my mouth because of the ending. I wasn't disappointed.

I think this film is definitely worth watching even if you are not into the romantic comedy types of films.

Watch the trailer here or check out the facts & figures.