Geoffrey Arend

500 days of summer is about love, but it is not a love story. It?s hard to describe what kind of movie it is, maybe it defies classification. Essentially it is a boy meets girl story, a story of a so called relationship. Beginning at the end, it?s told backwards and sideways. The 500 days that change one man?s life forever, make him question his lifelong beliefs and challenge his entire self. Half flash back, half dreams. The conventions of a film are shattered. It is self-aware, not giving to conventions of storytelling. Poignantly giving us a look into the mind and memories of a strange time in one young man?s life, and the women he loves, his world is tested and remade. Everything is challenged, his life and views, and also our conventions about what a love story is, and how it must be told; no set path, jumping from one time to another, from reality to imagination. Sometimes a dreamlike fantasy other times a poignant look at heart break and disillusionment. Hard to describe but easy to love, a movie that has unfortunately, fallen from sight. Joseph Gordon-Levitt deserves much praise for his quiet, heartfelt performance. Don?t let this one disappear into obscurity, it deserves to be seen and enjoyed.

I was really impressed with this movie. It surprised me in alot of ways. It drew my attention because it isn't your typical love story. Its much much more.