'(500) Days of Summer' (2009) is a film that has been on my radar as long as it has been readily available to watch. Of course when it was first released I was a 13 year old and the idea of enjoying a Rom-Com was enough to make me sick. But as I aged and my views towards 'soppy, lovey-dovey' films became much more welcoming I started to hear some very good things about this film. It received very good reviews upon it's initial release and still has a huge fan base today, or at least a big enough fan base that it has remained in the public consciousness. The aspect of the film that eventually pushed me into watching it was when I found out 'The Smiths' played a quite large part in the plot. Now, 'The Smiths' are one of my favourite bands of all time and so a film that uses them to advance plot was always going to be worth at least a curious watch. And, you know what, I am glad I did watch it. This film was a fun and charming Rom-Com with two good central performances and a soundtrack that I would be more than happy to have on my playlist. The film opens up with Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) having been dumped by his girlfriend, Summer (Zooey Deschanel). The film then flicks between the 500 days of their relationship, from their initial meeting at the greeting-card company where they both work, to the eventual decline of their relationship and the aftermath of their split.
The film is anchored by its two lead actors, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. Zooey Deschanel does not give any surprises with her performance. She is very good at playing quirky and unconventional characters and that is exactly what she is doing here. What she does do very well is make the character of Summer easy to fall in love with. Tom is the main protagonist of the film and so every situation we see is from his perspective which makes it very important that we see why this character falls in love with Summer, and Deschanel succeeds in doing this. As our protagonist it is also very important that Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives a likeable performance, and he also succeeds in this. He plays the awkward side of Tom well, but also is able to bring the charm and fire when it is needed. He is also good in moments where we see the negative aspects of his character. The character can be closed minded and is quick to blame a lot of problems on anything but himself, and Gordon-Levitt plays these moments well as he still keeps the character likeable despite his flaws. The key to both of these performances and for the film on the whole is the chemistry that these two share and it is clear to see throughout. It is hard to fake real chemistry and both actors pull it off really well. Every moment of their relationship seems believable and this helps you get more invested. I also want to give a quick shout to some of the bit part players in the film. Geoffrey Arend and Matthew Gray Gubler, who play Tom's friends McKenzie and Paul respectively, and Chloe Grace Moretz as Tom's younger sister, Rachel, are all good and add to the charming world the film creates.
As the title to this review suggests, this film is very much a hipster one. The characters all dress like hipsters, talk like hipsters and have interests that are becoming of a hipster. This is not a negative of the film by any stretch. Although I wouldn't identify myself as a hipster I definitely have hipster tendencies, and it is these tendencies that I think can make or break your liking of the film. If you find the whole hipster aesthetic infuriating then this film is definitely not one for you because it is everywhere and can often be too much. There is a tendency for this film to be quirky just for the sake of being quirky, especially when it relates to the Summer character, and this can be a bit grating at times. There are also a few character interactions that feel like they are trying to catch a bit of the Woody Allen style, wit and charm, but come across as someone who is trying to capture that rather than being genuine. But, on the whole, I think the film is very well written and has an aesthetic that I do really like. There are several good laughs in this film and most of the character interactions are interesting and entertaining. There are also creative decisions that I like, with the impromptu musical style dance section which occurs after Tom spends his first night with Summer being a pick of the quirky moments in the film. I also did like the way the narrative jumped about the relationship. This led to several fun transitions from happy to sad moments or vice versa. It is not a new narrative format but it works well in this film. And then we finally come to the soundtrack. This was one of the strongest aspects of the film with the songs matching well to emotional moments and scenes, both diagetic and non-diagetic, and any film with two songs by 'The Smiths' was always going to go down well with me.
Going in to '(500) Days of Summer' I had a pretty decent sense of what I was getting into. I thought it would be a quirky Rom-Com with a hipster sentimentality and a decent soundtrack. I also felt that it would be 50-50 whether I liked it or not. Fortunately for me, I did enjoy it. It does sometimes get a bit to quirky for its own good and this can drag it a little bit, but on the whole I think the level of quirk remains at a sensible and charming level. It also has two very good performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, who manged to have a believable chemistry and share moments of love that feel genuine and real, which in turn makes us invest in the films narrative much more than we would if the performances were not as good as they are. I feel like most people who are going to want to watch this film already have, but if you are looking for a lighthearted and fun Rom-Com this weekend then this is a very good place to start.