(500) Days explores unbearable twee-ness of Summer
The title of the quirky rom-com (500) Days of Summer contains two signs of its compulsive twee-ness. “Summer” refers not to a season but a young woman, played by Zooey Deschanel, and those parentheses foreshadow the films unifying narrative gimmick. The film cuts back and forth between key moments of the 500 days of Summers relationship with Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), from their first meeting to the point at which he finally gets over her.
Tom first notices Summer when theyre co-workers at the same greeting card company (although hed rather be an architect). Her beauty and free-spirited ways entice him almost immediately, but even after they start dating and sleeping together, she maintains more emotional distance. Even though Tom falls in love, Summer claims not to believe in deep romantic attachments. During a low ebb of their couplehood, Summer compares them to Sid and Nancy — and shes Sid Vicious. Gordon-Levitts deadpan, soft-eyed performance cultivates sympathy while grounding some of the films whimsy. Hes one of the most interesting under-actors of his generation, making the most of a minimalist style, like hes a student of Bill Murrays contemporary work.
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(Image courtesy Fox Searchlight)