This is not a love story... But it is about love

Rating: 9/10 (7 November 2017)

Finally, the day has arrived and I can happily say that I have lived to see something that I almost lost my hope to see - a truly original, clever, beautiful, creative, funny and moving, modern American romantic comedy. Nothing is new in this world. It is impossible to come up with the new plot about love or possibility of love, or expectation of love or losing it but it is possible to look at the old story with a fresh eye and to make the movie as enchanting as 500 Days of Summer. The first time director Marc Webb has started on a very high note. His movie is charming (I know I use this word a lot but it describes 500 days perfectly). It combines many different techniques and succeeds adorably in following two leads and their 500 days of getting together and gradually drifting apart. Not often, I see the movie that makes me smile from the beginning to the end. I felt like that big silly grin was glued to my face and I did not mind at all. It is nothing Webb did that I have not seen before. He applies the broken narrative and jumping back and forward in time. His use of split screen technique creates the best scene in the film with many memorable scenes. He inserts a musical number that seems to come from a Bollywood movie and changes the real world into animation. Yes, we have seen this all before but together these tricks have mixed in something magical, delicately bittersweet and funny without being stupid, loud, vulgar, and pushy.
The big part of the magic is without a doubt an undeniable palpable chemistry between two leads, both known for their previous performances in the independent movies. Zooey Deschanel (Summer) was the best part of All the Real Girls (2003). As for Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Tom), now, eight years after 500 days of Summer, he has become one of the best actors of his generation.
Marc Webb's debut feature generated many positive reviews, and it deserves them. Time will tell if 500 Days of Summer becomes Annie Hall for the modern time. I believe it is that good. There were few things that I did not like very much, for example a clichéd smart-alecky rather annoying character of pre-teen sister of Tom. Nevertheless, the entire movie is so wonderful that I don't want to nit-pick and would recommend it highly.
P.S. Wherever you are, Jenny Beckman, I want to thank you for having inspired this movie.