500 days of summer film analysis

Webb opens with a wide establishing shot of tom entering the gate to summer. In 500 days of summer, content and form work together to create a conventional postmodernist and postclassical hollywood style film. In its brightest moments, 500 days of summer delves honestly and insightfully into the mysteries of love and romantic chemistry, and how elusive a connection can be. Id heard critical things going into the movie, like the fact that it uses the common manic pixie dream girl trope and has some misogynistic undertones, but i. Focusing on the narration of the movie 500 days of summer from 2009 which is told in a nonlinear narrative in other words the film events are portrayed out of chronological order.

Summary and analysis for the film 500 days of summer medium. We start near the end, and then hop around between the times that were good and the times that left pain. The plot as given here has been rearranged in chronological order. At sundance every year, there are at least a few films released with killer soundtracks. The wife and i saw 500 days of summer last night before we caught inglourious basterds. In this movie, tom and summer become extremely close friends. Unlike summer finn zooey deschanel, whos also large in focus, tom is highlighted by a brighter light and is much inside the frame. Jason solomons talks to 500 days of summer star joseph gordonlevitt and to the star of new ecoswimming film big river man. After going though something similar, 500 days of summer takes on a different role. I ended up avoiding the film, because i feared the inevitable. Theres something to it, something more than your usual romantic comedy. At its worst, the film is like 27 dresses for indie types who prefer the smiths to bryan adams. Whether fictional or biographical, stories have and always will be a part of what has shaped my life. Then, on january 17th, the nonlinear romantic comedy 500 days of summer made its sundance debut.

Tom joseph gordonlevitt, greetingcard writer and hopeless romantic, is caught completely offguard when his girlfriend, summer zooey deschanel, suddenly dumps him. Director marc webbs glee in making the film is apparent. Every relationship is unique because the people in it are unique, so its not fair to judge based on a supposed set of rules. The problem with 500 days of summer video essay youtube.

It also might just be my personal opinion coming through, but i believe that this movie shows that there arent set rules in a relationship. Some say theyre annoyed by the way it begins on day 488 or whatever and then jumps. However, there is an undercurrent of hatred which gives this film a bitter aftertaste. In fact, 500 days of summer is a brilliant example of how to repackage tried and tested ideas to make them feel fresh and original again. The film has a number of splitscreen sequences prior to this, but in all of them, tom and summer appear to be in sync. Tom has had feelings for summer from the beginning and it seems like summer has the same feelings. Very different movies, with very different messages.

People are drawn to a good story, and i am no different. In the opening seen, the omniscient narrator warns. Analysis of 500 days of summer heartshapedhandgrenade. A defining moment scene in 500 days of summer occurs day 259 when tom defends his relationship with summer at a bar and hits the stranger. Zooey deschanel with joseph gordonlevitt in 500 days of summer t he glassyeyed, almost sinister prettiness of zooey deschanel colours the. Summer is more distant and does not want a relationship, while tom wants a relationship. Expectations summer finn connection to my 2nd film theme juxtaposition dialogue camera angles bench scene stubborn negative independent emotionless cold love is a fairytale bored message lighting music dialogue tom hansen actor. Some say theyre annoyed by the way it begins on day 488 or whatever and then jumps around, providing utterly unhelpful data labels. The soundtrack to 500 days of summer not only accomplishes this, but also manages to capture the height of every emotional turn in the film, thus evoking the same thoughts and feelings experienced during the movie. In the movie 500 days of summer director marc webb creates a scenario that is all too relatable as a young man struggles to understand the concept of love and friendship and how the two are connected or disconnected. Joseph gordonlevitt gets a harsh reality check in a. The dominant in this shot from the film 500 days of summer is the character of tom hansen, played by joseph gordonlevitt. The film is memorable scene after scene, from the couples ikea shopping trip to their illfated date to see. Regardless of whether or not you enjoyed 500 days of summer, the soundtrack has a lot to offer fans of almost any genre.

How 500 days of summer gets the manic pixie dream girl. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. In the middle of the film, after tom slept with summer for the first time, we are thrust into a brief musical number. Stian ghost of you dominus crixus high noon rush l e n d e m a i n help me get to 1,000,000 subscribers. Original, quirky and utterly delightful, 500 days of summer is a ray of genuine cinematic sunshine coming at the end of a blockbuster season thats been clouded with generic tosh. It is a reality check hidden within the most beautiful and the bleakest moments in romance. Is summer a manic pixie dream girl, or is her character flatted by toms.

Outside of the thematic analysis of 500 days of summer, i was also struck rewatching that movie at how different things have become in the short few years since. I love 500 days of summer, but ive always felt like there was something missing from the movie. It is important to note cinematographically that the film opens with day 488, the scene where tom and summer are seated at a bench and the audience sees. While it isnt a love story, 500 days doesnt focus on much beyond the relationship of the main characters tom and summer, told strictly from toms perspective. On the tenyear anniversary of its theater release, july 17, 500 days of summer is due for a revisit, particularly a critical and unsentimental one. Ten years later, 500 days of summer is quick, funny, romantic, and heartbreaking. After it looks as if shes left his life for good this time, tom hansen reflects back on the just over one year that he knew summer finn.

Youre not going to understand the girl very well, and you may learn more about. He reflects back on their 500 days together to try to figure out where their love affair went sour, and in so doing, tom rediscovers his true passions in life. In my interpersonal communication class, we viewed the film 500 days of summer featuring joseph gordonlevitt as tom hansen and zooey deschanel as summer. Theres a splitscreen section of this movie called expectations vs reality, and it is a masterpiece.

An unidentified male narrator warns us early on tha. Park city 500 days of summer is a lighthearted autopsy of a love gone sour from a strictly male point of view. Summer gives a little wave before following vance out. Youre not going to understand the girl very well, and you may learn more about the boy. Walking tour selected historic locations from the 2009 fox searchlight film 500 days of summer for much more information about the rich history of this area, including these and. Spoilers ahead, this is a semiargumentative analysis about the state of the main character, tom, at the end of the movie. Its a film that embraces love among the ruins of a modern society. The narrator tells the viewer in the first 5 minutes of the movie that though the story is about a boy and girl, it isnt a love story.

What is the overall message of the movie 500 days of summer. People live their everyday life, sleep, eat, learn, communicate and wait for something unusual in their lives. We never remember in chronological order, especially when were going back over a failed romance. Int record store later tom and summer shop for music. When he tries to analyze where things went wrong, those same. In marc webbs film 500 days of summer, his expectations and reality scene utilises a split screen to juxtapose toms joseph gordon levitt hopes of getting back together with summer zooey deschanel and his bleak reality. The most memorable sequence of 500 days of summer plays out in split. Tom excitedly shows summer a ringo starr solo album. Tom and summer alternating closeup shots between two characters come back to her apartment where they breakup, the scene ends with a high angle shot of tom running down a spiraling staircase. The romantic comedy 500 days of summer can be viewed as a conventional postclassical hollywood film based on its utilization of certain stylistic components. Best wishes on your breakup zooey deschanel and joseph gordonlevitt play amorous coworkers in. Its got some terrific moments, specifically when it follows toms flights of fancy. So the film is essentially the 500 days that tom meets a girl named summer, and eventually resolves his relationship with her.

What you never knew about 500 days of summer movie refinery29. Winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. We know this because a basso profundo narrator richard mcgonagle. These different roles suggest the complex perceptions between the genders and how.

Synopsis tom joseph gordonlevitt, greetingcard writer and hopeless romantic, is caught completely offguard when his girlfriend, summer zooey deschanel, suddenly dumps him. Thoughts on 500 days of summer count the clock medium. Summary and analysis for the film 500 days of summer. If youre looking for a similarly mature romantic movie, check out her, or eternal sunshine for the spotless mind. The reason for this is the films perspective, and understanding.

Summary and analysis for the film 500 days of summer 500 days of summer is a film based on the relationship between a man and a woman in their midtwenties. When tom attends summers engagement party, we see a split screen on one side, we see how tom imagined the party would go, and on the other, how it really goes. Even before the film begins, the viewer is treated to an insight to the lead. In the movie 500 days of summer, one can see the nonverbal communication through out the whole movie.

For those who havent seen the film, the basic premise is that tom is a hopeless romantic who is searching for his soulmate, who he believes is summer. Five hundred days of summer analysis film studies essay. People always say start at the beginning, but we didnt know at the time it was the beginning. Just because she likes the same bizzaro crap you do doesnt mean shes your soul mate. Zooey deschanel and joseph gordonlevitt, exploring love. It is a film that also miraculously manages to subvert generic expectations in one way while also completely confirming them in another. But since im a dating and relationship coach and not a revenge coach, im going to focus on the offbeat romantic comedy just for a moment. People will see tom and summers example of how relationships are able to form, as well as how relationships can be terminated from the non verbal communication skills with many other communication problems.