500 Days

(500) Days of Summer is a 2009 American comedy drama film. It was written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, directed by Marc Webb, produced by Mark Waters, and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. The film employs a nonlinear narrative structure, with the story based upon its male protagonist and his memory-driven look at a failed relationship. Principal photography began in April 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

The film received numerous awards and nominations; including Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber receiving the 2009 Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay. Notable nominations included two at the 67th Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), which it lost to The Hangover, and a nomination for Joseph Gordon-Levitt for Best Actor (Musical or Comedy), who lost to Robert Downey, Jr. for Sherlock Holmes.

Zooey has a very fresh look with big beautiful blue eyes and Joseph has a cute smile with dimples. One memorable part is when he was invited to her party, there are two side-by-side scenes: one is what Joseph imagined what would happen and another one is what really happened at the party. He expected her hug him and very happy to see him. The reality is: the party was for her engagement. She found true love in someone else which made Joseph heart broken badly. The movie is Joseph's recall of their 500 days together to get a clue where the relationship went wrong. We all have expectations from others. When reality is different, we feel hurt and unhappy. We will be happier if we have less expectations from others. Sometimes we just need to learn to let go.


Plot

The film is presented in a nonlinear narrative, as it jumps from various days within the 500-day span of Tom and Summer's relationship, indicated by an animation that includes the day's number; this summary is a linear version of the events of the film.

On January 8, Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon Levitt) meets Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel), the new assistant to his boss. Tom trained as an architect but works as a writer at a greeting card company in Los Angeles. Following a karaoke night, Tom's friend and co-worker McKenzie (Geoffrey Arend) reveals that Tom is attracted to Summer. During the next few months Summer and Tom grow closer, despite Summer's telling Tom that she does not believe in true love, and does not want a boyfriend.

Tom shows Summer his favorite spot in the city, which overlooks a number of buildings he likes, although the view is spoiled by parking lots. After several months of dating, Tom gets into a fight with a man who flirts with Summer, and they have their first argument. On day 290, Summer and Tom end their relationship after they see The Graduate, a film which Tom thinks shows true love. Tom does not take the breakup well, and Tom's friends call his younger sister, Rachel, to calm him down.

Summer quits her job at the greeting card company. Tom's boss moves him to the consolations department, as his depression is not suitable for happier events. Months later, as Summer and Tom attend the wedding of a co-worker, they dance at the wedding and Summer catches the bouquet. They sit next to each other on the trip home, and Summer invites Tom to a party at her apartment. He attends the party, but leaves when he sees that Summer is wearing an engagement ring. Tom enters a deep depression, only leaving his apartment for alcohol and junk food. After a few days, he returns to work with a hangover and after an emotional outburst, quits his job. He decides to rededicate himself to architecture, makes a list of firms, and begins to attend interviews.

On day 488, Summer sees Tom at his favorite spot in the city, and they talk. Tom states his lack of understanding towards her actions. Summer explains that he was right about the existence of true love and that she discovered in someone else all the feelings she had never been sure about with Tom. Summer holds Tom's hand. She says she is glad to see Tom is doing well. As she leaves Tom tells her he really hopes she is happy.

Twelve days later, on Wednesday, May 23, he attends a job interview and meets a beautiful girl who is also applying for the same job. They talk, and Tom learns she shares his favorite spot and dislike for the parking lots. Before entering the interview, he makes a date to have coffee with her afterwards. He asks her name, and she replies "Autumn".

Writing

The style of film is presented in a nonlinear narrative. Each scene is introduced using a title card showing which of the 500 days it is.

The film begins with a disclaimer: "Any resemblance to people living or dead is purely coincidental... Especially you, Jenny Beckman... Bitch." Co-writer of the film Scott Neustadter admitted the film was based on a real romance. Neustadter explains that when he met the real girl who inspired the character Summer as a student at the London School of Economics in 2002, he was rebounding from a bad breakup back home, and promptly fell "crazily, madly, hopelessly in love" with the girl who "returned his kisses but not his ardor." The ending of the relationship was "painfully and unforgettably awful," which prompted him to co-write the film with Michael H. Weber. When Neustadter later showed the script to Summer's real life counterpart, she said she related more to the Tom character. Weber also stated that, "we've all been in the trenches of love, we've all gone through the highs and lows, so Scott and I felt that the only way to tell this story was to come at it from a completely real place. It was pretty interesting for us because Scott was just going through a break-up and I was in a long-term relationship, so we each brought a totally opposite perspective, living it and not living it, and I think that tension helped to bring out more of the comedy".