Finally saw (500) Days of Summer with the sis last night and I really liked it...but it made me sad.My problem these days is that I can see bits of myself in all these movies/songs/books I keep diving into. Sometimes I'm perfectly fine and other times it touches a sore spot.
The poignant non-love story is the tale of a hopeless romantic and the girl who put him through the ringer. He was sure she was The One while she kept him at arm's length with one foot in and the other out. He kept trying to break through the walls and make her believe that love existed (even though his parents were divorced). She was too scared/cynical to fall for such a fairy tale (because her parents were divorced).
This is the story of Tom and Summer. It's also Mr. First's and mine in some ways - including the final role reversal.
The film had so many hilarious moments (particularly Tom's dance number the morning after he and Summer have sex for the first time) as well as parts that made me want to cry. I caught my sister glancing at me from the side surely waiting for me to just lose it. (I didn't.)
I loved the soundtrack and the director's use of color to indicate Tom's mood as the 500 days come to pass. The only thing I found confusing was the constant flip back and forth along that timeline. I kept forgetting what point in the relationship we were currently in, what had just happened before and what future events we'd already been privy to. But it didn't throw me off too much and I was still able to get the general gist of the order of events.
All in all, I really enjoyed the film despite the feelings it stirred up. "This is not a love story. This is a story about love." Love in all its messy, intense, beautiful, confusing, heartbreaking, hopeful glory.
(500) Days of Summer: 3.5/5 Toasties
Image: couchsleepingbeauty.wordpress.com