Hey everyone!! It’s been a little while but I think it is high time for another ‘Modern Classic’. For those of you who are new to the blog, or just need a little reminder, I am trying to work my way through those (retro and modern) classic films that I, rather shamefully, haven’t got around to watching yet. My latest first time viewing is the anti-love story, 500 Days Of Summer.

Director: Marc Webb

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Matthew Gray Gubler, Clark Gregg, Chloe Grace Moretz

Tagline: This is not a love story. This is a story about love.

Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a hopeless romantic. A the-fates-have-aligned, head-over-heels, love-at-first-sight romantic. And when Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) starts working at the same greeting card company, the fates align and Tom is a goner. But as we are reliably informed by the narrator, this is not a love story and we quickly learn that Tom and Summer’s views on love are like chalk and cheese.

As they embark on their friendship/relationship, Summer makes it clear that she is not looking for anything serious but Tom’s belief in love and soulmates means that his expectations don’t quite match reality – a concept that is explored to great effect at one point in the film.

Told over the course of 500 days, the film chronicles the ups and downs of their relationship and Tom’s coming-of-age journey through the challenges of self-discovery and unrequited love.

The non-linear, back and forth of the timeline may be a bit disorientating and distracting for those who prefer a straight beginning-to-end kind of storyline but it does fit perfectly with one of the key underlying themes, which is that life can be messy. 

From joyous musical set pieces complete with a cartoon bird and marching band to sombre, emotionally heavy art house cinema, the playful mish-mash of cinema styles help define Tom’s mood throughout the duration of his and Summer’s relationship. My particular favourite was the use of a split screen to highlight the differences between Tom’s expectations and the actual reality of the situation. 

You know you binge too many boxsets when you spend the first ten minutes or so pointing out all the cast and what shows you know them from, and for me, the great cast was a gold mine for me. Clark Gregg (MCU, Agents of Shield) is Tom’s likeable and affable boss, Vance, Matthew Gray Gubler of Criminal Minds fame is Tom’s friend and next door neighbour, and minor character Millie was portrayed by Patricia Belcher who starred alongside Zooey Deschanel’s sister Emily in Bones. 

As good – and familiar – as the supporting cast may be, it is the casting of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s sweet and somewhat geeky likeability as Tom coupled with Zooey Deschanel’s quirky strength and wide eyes that bring Summer to life, and form the last piece in cementing the film’s longevity and success.

500 Days of Summer is a film that has been the subject of much discussion and dissection over the last ten years or so but I think, much as Tom did with Summer, we project our own experiences, expectations and ideals onto the story more so than any other film I can think of at this point in time, and it is this that makes it visceral and difficult to define. 

There are those that will argue that Summer is the bad guy and others that will insist that it is Tom (including Joseph Gordon-Levitt himself), and there are some that will declare that there is no bad guy at all. 

“I think you’re remembering the good stuff. Next time you look back, I really think you should look again.”

These words of wisdom come from Tom’s wise-beyond-her-years kid sister Rachel (Chloe Grace Moretz) in the middle of his post-break up depression and are ones that the viewer should also heed. And with that in mind, check the film out and decide for yourself. 

500 Days of Summer is available to stream on Disney Plus.