500 ways to break a heart

Film review: 500 Days of Summer

MANILA, Philippines - Marc Webb is a noted music video director, having worked with such artists as My Chemical Romance, Weezer, Green Day and Regina Spektor. On his first full-length feature film, 500 Days of Summer, this music video experience comes to fruition. Without sacrificing plotline or emotional punch, he slyly utilizes music video techniques, and the choice of music itself, as a way to propel and enhance the storytelling. It’s a charming, witty, yet in-depth debut film that successfully balances romantic comedy with an incisive look at the miseries and pitfalls of modern love in the twenty-something world. Set in Los Angeles, the film is also a heartfelt tribute to the city, with Marc scratching away the concrete and steel we normally associate with downtown L.A., and finding warmth, architectural whimsy and character — something we don’t often associate with L.A.

Joseph Gordon-Leavitt winningly portrays Tom, one of the last of the romantics, a believer of that cosmically destined, lightning strikes kind of love. Trained as an architect, he finds himself working in a greeting card company. Zooey Deschanel plays Summer (hence the title of the film), secretary to Tom’s boss, Summer is the kind of girl who’s not typically beautiful but emanates a joie de vivre that’s irresistible, and has men swooning, in spite of her clinical/cynical approach to love. Criss-crossing along the temporal plane, we get an often humorous, sometimes sad and tragic, but always charming, dissection of this relationship between Tom and Summer. If you pushed me to describe the ambiance of the film, I’d say think Woody Allen, but hipper and for that twenty-something crowd, a little less of the angst and self-pity, and loaded with quirky songs, and one delightful musical set piece that come straight out of Bollywood!

It’s the directorial style that comes to the fore in this film, and is central to its unique character. The aforementioned time jumps, the split screens, the use of karaoke numbers, the home videos and hand held camera scenes, talking directly to the audience, and the graphics, all point to a readiness to go all over the place style-wise and yet, this precarious balancing act manages to win us through. As for the casting, I especially loved the younger sister of Tom and how surprisingly, she would play the sober voice of reason and be Tom’s shrink and guru. The two friends of Tom are also bits of perfect casting. And central to the utter charm of the film are Deschanel and Gordon-Leavitt — they’re real, they’re human, and they pull off the act of being sympathetic, even when being unreasonable, difficult or disappointing each other’s character. While this may be promoted as a film for a younger audience, this grizzled tooth veteran of love’s battlefield still found much to enjoy!