Deschanel shows a new side, while Gordon-Levitt appears pathetic

Rating: 7/10 (3 September 2009)

Being confined to a small town since the early days of my childhood, I found it easy to be drawn to things of the big city. Of the many attractions in Dallas, the Angelika Film Center is quite possibly my favorite. So, after previewing the trailer for Marc Webb's (500) Days of Summer, with my innate love for Zooey Deschanel and finding out the movie was playing at the Angelika one summer night, two friends and I sped off to the DFW on a hot July night, only to be slightly disappointed in our viewing.
The plot of (500) Days, even the title itself, is quite deceiving, claiming that it "is not a love story." Quite contrarily, (500) Days seems to be an extremely lavish romantic comedy. Though the film has a unique approach to love, it is not for those fateful believers in the idea of romance.
The coupled duo, Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, meet ever so fatefully at their card company job, and develop a typical office relationship. Deschanel warns him early she does not want a relationship, while Gordon-Levitt simultaneously falls head over heels for her. The film has many cute relationship activities, such as a karaoke bar scene. However, the script lacks in cathartic appeal, dismissing lovers' everyday conversations.
While I felt sorry and sympathized with Gordon-Levitt, I also felt empathy for Deschanel's cold-hearted character. The film makes clear that she intends not to hurt him from the beginning, with a warning, and that he traps himself inside a wormhole of emotion. Gordon- Levitt appears pathetic to the audience, doing anything he can to win Deschanel back, while she becomes involved elsewhere.
(500) Days proves that love is not always the answer, and that, while being a fictitious story, two people cannot share the exact sentiment toward each other at the same time. The movie highlights only one situation of love, boy falling for an unattainable goal, and describes the way that no one ever falls the exact same way for anyone else. The closing of (500) Days, though not as completely expected, is the giveaway to the film's trailer claim of its absence of being a typical romantic comedy.
The psychological concept that relationships are cyclical deters the overall theme of (500) Days. The meaning of the story is a little hazy, but it has good intentions for "not being a love story." The script seems to lack a certain quality of real life, without sentiment, and has an extremely jumpy storyline between reality and the imaginative. I applaud only Deschanel's acting in the film because of its opposition to her normal character: mostly a kindhearted and naive sweetheart.
The visual aspects of the film, with bright colors and sunshine in abundance, and the music added to the quality of (500) Days. One scene, depicting Gordon-Levitt's happy-go-lucky attitude after a night with Deschanel, uses blue and turquoise colorful undertones and Hall and Oates "You Make My Dreams Come True" to express his innate happiness. I bought the soundtrack on iTunes immediately after returning home.
Fans of How to Deal, Love, Actually, and P.S. I Love You will appreciate (500) Days for its one-of-a-kind approach at relationships in their making. However, I would not recommend the film to anyone who has any question whatsoever in their relationship, or for those who see fate as a number one option to finding a person to spend the rest of their life with. After all, nothing lasts forever.