Summer Lovin'

500 days of summer is a love story or at least one envisions it is from first look of the film and its premise, but when the movie begins  a narrator explains who the two main characters are and then goes on to say " This is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know upfront, this is not a love story". Which is true, this is more of a story of a young male named Tom played by Joseph Gordon Lovett who has the sad fortune of trying to get over the fact that Summer, played by Zooey Deschanel, likes him now but probably doesn't love him in the long run. The story jumps back and forth from the time they meet (day 1) to the moment Tom meets another women at a job interview (ironically the woman's name is Autumn). The film begins on day 488, where were shown Tom and summer sitting side by side on a Hill looking down on the city, from there were cut to day 1 the day they meet. They begin to seem like a perfect couple, but even though they’re madly in love they both have different ideas of what love is and are truly opposite of each other. Their first conversation actually revolves around relationships; she explains that she doesn't like to be considered someone’s girlfriend. The movie then chronicles the highs and lows of Tom falling for Summer even though she doesn't feel the same.

This movie has a lot of cuts, and montages that help show the high and low of being in love or falling in love. It also shows many close ups of Tom and Summer when they're happy together in a good place, but when things begin to go south you see them separate from each other. A camera angle I really liked in this film was when they first kiss each other in the copy room. The camera is at a medium shot and the two of them have their backs to the camera. Separated by a good 5 feet of space that seems longer due to the camera angle each of them go about their business sneaking in a stair here and there until Summer cant control herself and decides to kiss him leaving the space she was just at vacant and then we cut to a close up of them kissing. I thought the way the film was shot, which was relatively mostly close up shot above the chest, made the film more intimate and romantic.

I believe Marc Webb did a fantastic job of portraying the way a relationship can feel to certain people who become heartbroken easily and abundantly. The film jumps from the good times this couple had to the times where they seem depressed and saddened to be with each other, then back to a time where they were still getting to know each other and head over heels in love. But I think what sets this film apart is the story telling, we’re told this isn't a love story but we still make ourselves believe it is because we root for tom to get Summer. The ending of this film is one of my favorites of all time, after losing Summer and wallowing for long enough Tom goes after his dream job and in doing so meets someone who might be perfect for him, Autumn