Impressive Non-linear Editing

Rating: 9/10 (12 September 2009)

Opening narration, "This is a story of boy meets girl. But you should know up front, this is not a love story." First impression: was the romantic comedy genre being toyed with?—as if what I were about to see was a pseudo, unorthodox love story masked with conventional love story elements? My assumption was right and wrong in two separate contexts. First, the film's non-linear editing style reminded me of the gimmicks of "Memento"—that is, would the story have been nearly as compelling were it not for its editing? Conversely, play the film in linear motion: would it fall to pieces? Editing has the most powerful effect on the viewer's cinematic experience next to acting. The editing of "500 Days," though thoroughly engaging, did not, however, make the film.
Renoir once said that editing is directing for the second time: it makes or breaks your experience. In the case of both films, I believe "Memento" would have bombed were it not for Dody Dorn, but "500 Days" would have still soared even with an exempted, non-linear style. The answer: the writing was too smart, even though Neustadter & Weber had to earn my respect. I anticipated something cheap and contrived (like the far too sophisticated, purely obnoxious and childish antics of "Juno"). I had to be converted, and slowly though, I was.
The juxtaposition of scenes strengthened the quality of the film. I loved the truthfulness of the characters: first identifying what he loves about Summer (cut with parts of her body), later slabbed against what he hates about her (again, cut with the same footage). It holds true to the platitude: familiarity breeds contempt. The editing also worked with the split screen "Reality vs. Expectation" sequence. The differences between both screens were subtle yet terribly sincere, terribly true. I laughed out loud several times. I enjoyed the active participation and socially savvy relationship pedestals the writers invited me to celebrate & mourn.
There was also a healthy blend of realism and fantasy as depicted through the expressionistic personification & musically emotive "after-sex" scene. Walking out of his apartment, everything is fresh and vibrant: smiles all around from on watchers. Suddenly it breaks out into song and dance and we're watching "Zippity Doo-Dah." It was fun! There were moments where the dialogue was cliché but the acting and conceptual vocation held by Gordon-Levitt made it worthy of endurance. Come to think of it, Levitt's on-screen career made some of the cliché dialogue wonderfully ironic and that much more compelling.
The editing style, again, brought us back & forth through the polar spectrum of emotions: "She loves me, She loves me not" syndrome. Frankly, Summer was young and happy-go-lucky; not focusing upon dating labels or destinations, but purely enjoying the ride at Levitt's expense—very obnoxious but true. I guess that's a reflection of my willingness to fully commit in relationships rather than play the part with all the benefits without the labels. Overall, the film worked. I won't be surprised if it's up for Academy Awards.