500 Days of Summer

In 1977, Woody Allen gave audiences the gift of Annie Hall, a wonderfully eccentric romantic comedy that gave a refreshing boost of energy to the genre. With witty dialogue, superb acting and enough clever film techniques to make Fellini gush, Annie Hall is considered one of the all-time greatest films and subsequently won Best Picture at the '78 Oscars. In that same spirit, (500) Days of Summer brings a breath of fresh air to the concept of boy meeting girl. Although not quite on par with Annie Hall, it is about as close to capturing that same excitement and idiosyncrasy as a film has done in ages and should revive hope in the art of film for even the most cynic of viewers.

The film's title is a little misleading. The story is not about an over-extended season of the year but instead about a girl named Summer and the year-and-a-half that Tom Hansen finds himself smitten with her. A narrator tells us right off the bat that although this is a tale about a boy meeting a girl it is not a love story and a humorous author's note that appears before the opening credits prepares us for an arc that may not end on a particularly happy note. But, like Tom, we can't help falling in love with the idea of he & Summer living happily ever after. The chemistry between actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zoey Deschanel is without doubt responsible, in part, for our belief that these two are fated for one another. Marc Webb, making his feature length debut, does an excellent job capturing their charming courtship as it progresses from the first day to its last. Also making their debut, screenwriters Michael Weber & Scott Neustadter who have written a gem of a script. I hesitate to use the word "quirky" as it has now become a tired term but the film has a peculiar sensibility that (although more muted than, say, Juno or Away We Go) fans of the independent scene will appreciate.

The film has a brilliant soundtrack (kudos to the music supervisor) and offers a combination of film techniques that one might expect to be treated to in Annie Hall: actors addressing the camera, a song and dance number with a brief splash of animation, fantasy sequences including one with a very clever use of the split screen, a use of time-shifts that might give Pulp Fiction a ran for its money. Although they all add a bit of spice to an already flavorful film, some of them miss the mark and I'm left wondering if a few sequences were used but for the sake of being unique and not for furthering the development of the story or characters.

Which brings me to the only thing I found disappointing in the film: the characters. Some of them were completely unnecessary, particularly Tom's little sister who shows up a couple of times to offer advice but plays no significant point beyond that (her lines could have been given to any one of his guy pals and it would have just sufficed). The guy pals, themselves, seemed to provide nothing more than comical relief to the character of Tom. And then there's Summer, or, at least, the vague outline of her. We never really get to know much about her beyond what Tom wishes she was. She's a modern woman: independent, witty, self-assured. But the film focuses mostly on Tom and his angst. I only wish the story would have been a more bi-partisan story.

But like Tom, what you want out of something is not necessarily what you get or what you need. If you excuse your expectations of what a film (or a relationship) ought to do or where it ought to go, you're more likely to enjoy it. If only Tom had seen this film before he met Summer and if only we had met Summer before she first saw Tom, we would all be a little happier. But by the end of the film, you're left feeling like everything will turn out all right even if what you wanted isn't what you got.

****(out of five)