Tuesday, July 28, 2009
500 Days of Summer
Beautifully directed but heartbreaking to watch, the filmmakers understand the agony, the miscommunications and the mixed signals of love. Zoe Deschenel perfectly portrays "Summer", the guarded, aloof, dangerous woman -- always smiling, but never open, never giving. She tells Joseph Gordon-Levitt she's not interested in a “relationship” but then she proceeds to make out with him. She goes so far as to co-opt his secret meditative place, only to ambush him and blame the relationship failures on HIM. For his part, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who's great in everything he touches lately, combines broad comedy and tragic emo rejection with great skill. The direction is unique and playful, sampling a variety of gimmicks to keep the story moving: voice of God narration, split screen, funky locations (Ikea) and even a zany Ally McBeal-ish music number. The movie's obsessed with architecture, but ironically the plot's non-linear, which also keeps us on our toes. It's all sugar to get us through what is ultimately a very cynical portrait of a doomed romance. But it's crafty, the story is worthy, and the acting is strong. Not really a date movie, though.
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Doug, I just adored this movie. I've been thinking about it for the last couple of days. I know the underlying message was sad and cynical, but it was so cleverly done. I nearly fell out of my seat in the Hall and Oates dance bit. One of my favorite lines was when he is walking out of the convenience store with his Twinkie and J.D. diet and he tells the couple innocently walking down the street and holding hands to "rent a room". It's so indicative of how someone feels when they've been scorned by a lover. I could go on and on. But, did you see Away We Go? Cute, but not nearly as clever.
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