Tom hansen works as a writer for a greetingcard company. Narrative and stylistic analysis of 500 days of summer. To begin with, 500 days of summer is released in 2009 and the truman show in 1998. The story centers around tom, a young man whos waiting for the girl of his dreams, and summer, the one who he believes to fit the role. Summer finn is a quirky young woman hired as his bosss assistant. Summer doesnt believe in true love, and isnt looking for a relationship. Of all 500 days, number 35 had to be one of the summeriest. I really loved the movie and was wondering if it was inspired by a book or if there are books out there like the movie. I hesitate to call it a romantic comedy because it actually inadvertently pokes fun at the genre. We start near the end, and then hop around between the times that were good and the times that left pain. The film stars joseph gordonlevitt and zooey deschanel, and employs a nonlinear narrative structure, with the story based upon its male protagonist and his memories. Countless scripts have subjected their protagonists through the archetypal woes, resentments, and recoveries associated with botched relationships, and this one is no exception. In its brightest moments, 500 days of summer delves honestly and insightfully into the mysteries of love and romantic chemistry, and how elusive a connection can be. Weber unknown 2006 first draft released on september 2, 2009 an offbeat romantic comedy about a woman who doesnt believe true love.
In my interpersonal communication class, we viewed the film 500 days of summer featuring joseph gordonlevitt as tom hansen and zooey deschanel as summer. Jul 11, 2016 when i first watched the film 500 days of summer, i had high expectations. When i first watched the film 500 days of summer, i had high expectations. Jul 24, 2009 500 days of summer is a story of boy meets girl, but it is not a love story. Even after almost 10 years, these 500 days of summer moments never grow old. If youre looking for a similarly mature romantic movie, check out her, or eternal sunshine for the spotless mind.
Zooey deschanel and joseph gordonlevitt, exploring love. Weber screenplay and marc webb director in 2009 film 500 days of summer. The plot as given here has been rearranged in chronological order. For all the warm, generous, very funny things that it is, the movie is also a cry of pain from a guy who just cant figure. Injecting a bit of freshness into the genre, 500 days of summer is still a hit as the indie antiromantic comedy hits the ten year mark. Tom has had feelings for summer from the beginning and it seems like summer has the same feelings. I never understood why many film critics were raving about the movie, 500 days of summer. Nov 29, 2016 in one of my college courses, i was assigned to do a video essay on a particular film, directors, film topic, etc. The film is memorable scene after scene, from the couples ikea shopping trip to their illfated date to see. Tom and summer start dating slowly, getting to know one another over several months. Download 120 pages 215 kb digital pdf format written by by scott neustadter and michael h. The movie begins by the photos of the heros and heroines childhood.
I decided to do my video essay on marc webbs 2009 film, 500 days of summer. Ext movie theater day tom and summer walk out of a movie theatre. Each sequence begins with a problem that tom has to solve. I think it would be really easy to say that 500 days of summer is. Most people have heard this question, either being asked to or asked by them. An unidentified male narrator warns us early on that this is a story of boy meets girl. The ending may not be what weve come to expect, but the beats and choices that many of the characters make are familiar territory for fans of romantic fare. On the tenyear anniversary of its theater release, july 17, 500 days of summer is due for a revisit, particularly a critical and unsentimental one. Tom, a hopeless romantic, immediately falls for her. Film analysis of 500 days of summer pdf file film analysis of 500 days of summer 3. Parents need to know that 500 days of summer is a smart romantic dramedy thats ageappropriate for teens and up, but its thoughtful exploration of relationships may speak more to those in college and older. They begin a doomed relationship since summer has made her skepticism of love due to her parents divorce when she was a girl very clear. The relationship between the two lasted for months, which did allow them to experience most of the stages of mark knapps model of relationship development and.
We never remember in chronological order, especially when were going back over a failed romance. Walking tour page 5 of 6 grand central market 315 south broadway john parkinson, 1897 listed in the national register of historic places this was the site of a deleted scene from the film in which tom and summer are shopping for fruit. The romantic comedy 500 days of summer can be viewed as a conventional postclassical hollywood film based on its utilization of certain stylistic components. Most importantly though both films offer the promise of no ordinary love story. Summary and analysis for the film 500 days of summer. Some say theyre annoyed by the way it begins on day 488 or whatever and then jumps around, providing utterly unhelpful data labels. The wife and i saw 500 days of summer last night before we caught inglourious basterds. While every genre has its conventions, two recent romanticcomedies friends with benefits gluck, 2011 and 500 days of summer webb, 2009 seem to bring attention to, and in some cases overtly criticise, the tendencies of the genre. The soundtrack to 500 days of summer not only accomplishes this, but also manages to capture the height of every emotional turn in the film, thus evoking the same thoughts and feelings experienced during the movie.
Then, at the call to action, tom decides to do something about it. Sep 02, 2009 500 days of summer is a warm and witty film. How to use 3act structure to better write your screenplay may 7, 2020. Essay 1 film analysis of 500 days of summer callum. Explanation on the ending of 500 days of summer movies. Marc webb s 500 days of summer takes a different approach. It looks pretty, seems smart and could fool you into loving it in the shortterm. This movie is definitely about love, but its just as. The truman show and 500 days of summer share the characteristics that hannabuss lists therefore the films fall into the postmodernist era. Ten years later, 500 days of summer is quick, funny, romantic, and heartbreaking. Advice for film school graduates from spike lee may, 2020. How to use the 500 days of summer script to master nonlinear.
It has a sweetyetrealistic view of relationships thats refreshing given the usual formulaic dreck in this genre. Moving away from the perfect romance, it aims to show the emotional mess that is love. In the middle of the film, after tom slept with summer for the first time, we are thrust into a brief musical number. Aug 18, 20 the majority of romcoms you see have a happy ending, where you have been rooting for the title characters to get together and they do. Mar 16, 2018 summary and analysis for the film 500 days of summer 500 days of summer is a film based on the relationship between a man and a woman in their midtwenties. Analysis of 500 days of summer heartshapedhandgrenade.
The majority of romcoms you see have a happy ending, where you have been rooting for the title characters to get together and they do. Writing a script can be hard enough without playing around with timeframes and trying to still make it all make sense. A breakout hit at the sundance film festival, 500 days of summer is careful to tell you that it is not a love story, which really isnt true. How to use the 500 days of summer script to master nonlinear storytelling. Employing a nonlinear narrative structure, 500 days of summer is an american romantic comedydrama produced in 2009 by mark waters. Its a comedy with romance, but dont call it a romantic comedy. Analysis of 500 days of summer by marc webb and produced by steven j. The film stars joseph gordonlevitt and zooey deschanel, and employs a nonlinear narrative structure, with the story. Although they started off very well, it began to spiral downward rapidly.
But it also subscribes to too many romcom cliches to be called. It was almost like falling in love tom joseph gordonlevitt, greetingcard writer and hopeless romantic, is caught completely offguard when his girlfriend, summer. The movie shows the progression of the relationship of tom and summer. Very different movies, with very different messages. This is a story of boy meets girl, begins the wry, probing narrator of 500 days of summer, and with that the film takes off a breakneck speed into a funny, truetolife, and unique dissection of the unruly and unpredictable year and a half of one young mans noholdsbarred love affair and as the story winds backwards and forwards through tom and summer s onagain, offagain.
Tom farewell romantizced unapologetic believer in true love and fate have a. When it comes to the breakdown of each sequence itself, here are some important points to remember. It is important to note cinematographically that the film opens with day 488, the scene where tom and summer are seated at a bench and the audience sees. Tom hansen, a lovesick greeting card writer, meets summer finn and proceeds to begin a 500 day relationship with her, revealing to us right at the start that this love story does not end happily. The problem is identified with the inciting incident at the start of each sequence. Tom excitedly shows summer a ringo starr solo album. So the film is essentially the 500 days that tom meets a girl named summer, and eventually resolves his relationship with her. How to use the 500 days of summer script to master non. People always say start at the beginning, but we didnt know at the time it was the beginning. Original, quirky and utterly delightful, 500 days of summer is a ray of genuine cinematic sunshine coming at the end of a blockbuster season thats been clouded with generic tosh. In this movie, tom and summer become extremely close friends. May 27, 2011 spoilers ahead, this is a semiargumentative analysis about the state of the main character, tom, at the end of the movie. At its worst, the film is like 27 dresses for indie types who prefer the smiths to bryan adams.
In the movie 500 days of summer, one can see the nonverbal communication through out the whole movie. What was the moraltheme of the movie 500 days of summer. The narrator tells the viewer in the first 5 minutes of the movie that though the story is about a boy and girl, it isnt a love story. The fourthwall breaking look into the camera is basically his character communicating to the audience that he understands that. In 500 days of summer, content and form work together to create a conventional postmodernist and postclassical hollywood style film.
Summer and toms relationship was definitely not perfect. This is a more mature cut at the romantic comedy genre populated with the likes of zack and miri make a porno and knocked up. A behindthescenes documentary exploring the making of marc webbs 500 days of summer 2009. But since im a dating and relationship coach and not a revenge coach, im going to focus on the offbeat romantic comedy just for a moment. I know that summer was just an independent character who wanted to make her own choices. The hopeless romantic hidden within the depths of me thought i would watch a quirky little love story. Built by retired ohio entrepreneur homer laughlin, founder of the. As the title shows, it is about 500 days about being in love. Sudden extreme change in mood from the blissful delight and enthusiasm to the destroyed misanthropic attitude occasionally involving a mix of confusion and fear are all cleverly written and presented in a very unconventional way by michael h.
Regardless of whether or not you enjoyed 500 days of summer, the soundtrack has a lot to offer fans of almost any genre. People will see tom and summers example of how relationships are able to form, as well as how relationships can be terminated from the non verbal communication skills with many other communication problems. Weber and scott neustadter, the script narrates the story of the male protagonist and memories of his failed relationship that lasted for exactly 500 days scott 1. In 500 days of summer gender reversal is represented through the portrayal of the characters tom and summer. The final scene in 500 days of summer is completed by answering the question fate does exist and there is the one or soul mate out there and you will never know when it happens.
We know this because a basso profundo narrator richard mcgonagle tells us so in the opening moments of the film. Int record store later tom and summer shop for music. The good news is, though, that nonlinear stories like the one found in the 500 days of summer script are actually easier to write than you may think. I was finally convinced by a friend to watch the movie. I knew beforehand that the movie involves heartbreak so i was a little hestitant to watch a depressing movie. In the case of tom, he has more in common with the heroines of romantic comedies that are hopelessly romantic and desperate to find the one, they cannot imagine themselves being happy without a man, too caught up in their.
Wolfe life can offer a seemingly perfect relationship that takes a sudden drop towards separation without the realization that communication between partners has shown signs of deterioration early on in the connection. Why 500 days of summer is the truest movie around thought. Walking tour selected historic locations from the 2009 fox searchlight film 500 days of summer for much more information about the rich history of this area, including these and. Film analysis of 500 days of summer discussing the different theoretical frameworks within the film, the narrative and also the cinematography within the film too.
374 1051 642 937 678 366 240 885 680 740 635 65 167 1569 1393 360 1199 325 651 1495 1276 1458 792 551 127 657 840 1331 401 1100 786 134 529 556 1213 1283 407 232 1246