Film Review

"This is not a love story. This is a story about love." So begins the opening of (500) Days of Summer, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt--adorable in that under-achieving and nerdy way--and Zooey Deschanel. Tom is a twenty-something writer in a greeting cards office, content with his underachieving and non-existent success at being an architect, when he falls smitten with a new employee, Summer. Tom spends a good deal of those (500) days trying to break down the proverbial wall that Summer has built up. She doesn't want a boyfriend, being overly-complacent with her independence and freedom as an individual. Slowly the wall begins to crumble, but then again, so does their relationship.

In a manner that is all-too-familiar, we gain exposure to both sides of the spectrum, and can identify (perfectly) with both. We can give too much, and receive too little, just as we can give too little, and receive too much. There is no perfect [relational] situation...ever. That is the point. The film will make you question what 'love' actually means to you. Is it real? Is it an illusion? Is there a right or wrong answer? No. Nothing is simple. Everything is complex. In that complexity, we thrive as individuals capable of not only the conception of 'love' but the arbiters thereof.

Go see it. Show times are here.