18 September 2011

Scenes I Like A Lot - (500) Days of Summer

The Movie:
(500) Days of Summer

What's Up:
After months without seeing Summer, Tom runs into her on a train and she invites him to a party. She gives the invitation innocently, but Tom runs a different scenario in his head. He envisions a scenario where Summer invited him to rekindle their relationship, to talk to him one on one. He sees her being more intimate with him - a hug, a brush of hand, long gazes, etc. This is what he expects, but reality...nah, not even close to the same. Director Marc Webb and screenwriter Scott Neustadter beautifully craft this scene that depicts both Tom's expectations and what actually happens at the party.

Why I Dig It:
What's not to love? I want to mention how utterly brilliant the split screen device is used. First time I saw this movie in the theater, I had chills because of how awesome - and honest - this was. There are at least a hundred instances where I can relate to Tom's mentality and the reality of the actual event. Not only was this splendidly written and realized, but it hits home, and I love it for that. Hell, the entirety of (500) DAYS OF SUMMER I salute for being so bloody honest, yet finding a surprising balance of drama and comedy in all this misery and suckiness. And let's not fail to mention Joseph Gordon-Levitt who is, once again, awesome in the role of Tom, making each stolen glance or satisfied chug of wine as hurtful as the situation. In the end, I relate, I love how the scenario is visualized, and I love how this utterly engaging scene - which could have been really boring - helps push Tom into a different direction where he gets his life in order. I love this movie.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The split scenes in this movie is great, I agree. I probably would've loved this movie more as a whole if it weren't for Zooey who I think is so overrated, but Levitt is just perfect. Looking forward to see what Webb would bring to the Spiderman reboot.

Ryan McNeil said...

Great scene in a film filled with great scenes. This movie has been on my mind a lot this week.