It’s smart, and it works

 
Love. It can put a spring in your step and a smile on your face. Then it can come crashing down on your head like an avalanche of rocks that beat you to a bloody pulp while squeezing the very last breath from your lungs. Which is why the opening voice-over of (500) Days of Summer takes care to explain that the film is not a love story, but rather a story about love. An important distinction, avalanche wise.

It’s evident from the first moment, when a disclaimer flashes across the screen and sets the tone for the rest of the movie, that (500) Days of Summer is going to be both sweet and sour. Though the concept – and title – are a little too precious by half, director Marc Webb pulls it off with amazing deft. He weaves together a non-linear story so that the relation’s highs lead directly into the lows, so you experience the break-up an hour before the fight that precedes it. It’s smart, and it works.

At the heart of Webb’s film is Summer (Zooey Deschanel) and Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), opposites who attract. In a reversal of typical gender-roles, Tom is a greeting-card writing romantic who believes that when he meets his soul mate it’s going to hit him like a ton of bricks; Summer is the receptionist who doesn’t believe in love but embraces the concept of friends with benefits. So it’s clear that even when Tom is skipping down the street with a bluebird on his shoulder that there’s a thundercloud over his head just ready to burst.

Even though doom lurks around every corner for Tom, Gordon-Levitt sells his youthful optimism with earnest conviction. He’s at once boyishly cute and devastatingly charming. (500) Days of Summer is not a romantic comedy as much as it’s a coming of age story. The latter requires Gordon-Levitt to show more depth and growth than most romantic leads and he does it wonderfully.

Deschanel, on the other hand, has to play it more cool and reserved as the emotionally distant Summer. And she manages to turn her wide-eyed stare, which looked vacant in The Happening, to sometime more akin to detached here. She is able to warm up on screen a little bit, but the fact that Summer is always just out of reach aids Deschanel.

But most of the credit for the film’s success rests with Webb, who takes Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber’s script and manages to avoid potential pitfalls. The jumps in time marked by a constantly flipping day-counter and seasons marked by a cartoon tree are initially disjointed but eventually ground the film. Were (500) Days told in a strictly linear fashion, it would quickly become routine and formulaic but it remains fresh to the final scene. That’s not to say that the film’s conclusion isn’t clear from the beginning. Anyone paying attention is going to spot the red herrings, but it adds a layer of intelligence that greatly aids the project. And while Jean-Paul Vignon’s narration feels like an easy out at times, at least it’s not Morgan Freeman.

Webb also incorporates just enough moments of surrealism to cap off the feeling that the film is a fairytale of sorts. Not your typical happily-ever-after story, but still one where you don’t need to worry about the hero. He’s going to make it to the end and ride into the sunset. Maybe alone, but that’s life.

One of the most wonderful components of the film is the soundtrack, which is not just an afterthought, but rather completely integrated throughout. Ranging from The Smiths, to Hall & Oates, to obscure new bands, the musical selections elevate the storylines – even overshadowing the action at times – and punctuate key moments flawlessly. It’s definitely worth sample the playlist on iTunes after seeing the film.

For anyone who likes a little scorn in their love stories, (500) Days of Summer is the perfect antidote for the usual sugar-shock inducing flicks. Love can be a bitter pill to swallow at times, but that doesn’t stop us from looking because there’s always a chance that it’s going to be different this season. You just have to take it one day at a time.