500 Days of Perfection...

Rating: 10/10 (3 August 2009)

Every year, there's at least one movie that makes you reflect upon choices you've made in your own life, one which touches you on a personal level. Last year, that film was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This year, it's 500 Days of Summer. Deeply poignant, original, touching, and creative, Summer is a film which will stay in your mind for weeks to come. Directed by Marc Webb, one of the year's best movies also features stellar performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.
Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) believes in true love, in that one special person that everyone will find some day. Summer Flinn (Zooey Deschanel), however, does not. When Tom falls for Summer, a new intern at the greeting card company he works at, he knows it's love at first sight. Summer on the other hand remains skeptical.
While there's a whole lot more to the plot than that short paragraph, to spoil it all here would definitely be quite a shame. There's lots of twists and turns, and an ending that ties everything together quite beautifully. The whole thing is done with so much care for the characters, and all of the fantastic realism that shines through just makes it all the better.
The acting, for the most part, is what makes a film like this work so well, and this one is no exception. The two leads worked great off each other, showing raw emotion and talent all around. It's simply beyond me how Deschanel can go from a mediocre, predictable crapfest like Yes Man to a beautiful, original indie movie. Gordon-Levitt, as always, never ceases to impress, but he was definitely at his best in the this movie; it's quite possibly his best performance to date.
The originality and creativity present in this movie is, honestly, the best thing about it. It's just so damn easy to fall in love with it. The setup of time passing, the cinematography, the inventive narration, hell, even the after-sex dance party in the streets were simply phenomenal. The whole production is just oozing with talent and creativity, and it's astounding to see it all unfold. It's so simple and so effective that it's very easy to be taken aback by the beauty of it all.
I could probably rave about this movie for days. It was really that good. Just do the right thing: go out and see this indie film which has everyone talking. 500 Days of Summer is an early contender for best movie of the year. And if that doesn't get you to go check it out then I don't know what will.