(Thrills) of Summer

An un-romantic film from a broken-hearted guy’s perspective. As a woman, I never knew men could be so emotional. Lines such as ‘it’s not what they said, it’s the way they said it’ I thought, were only a part of a woman’s vocabulary. How wrong I was.

(500) Days of Summer, contrary to its name, is not about the longest heat-wave known to man. It is in fact an un-conventional film spreading a conventional message, ‘love hurts.’

Tom (played by a charismatic Joseph Gordon-Levitt) falls for his bosses new assistant, Summer (the glorious Zooey Deschanel). For him, its all hearts and roses, for her its ‘a bit of fun’ – (a line uttered by many a male). So when she ends things, we can’t help but to feel a little heartbroken ourselves.

The film is cleverly directed, bouncing back and fourth through Tom’s 500 days with Summer, much to the likeness of when you analyse every little detail of where the relationship went sour. You see things through Tom’s eyes. You see what he thinks, and what actually happens, again something that I think we are all guilty for. A terrific scene playing out to the sound of Regina Spektor's Hero is one of the most poignant this year.

This un-love story (as I like to call it) shows us ‘relationships’ for what they are and both Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel are ace at playing their respective roles. Although for some Deschanel's 'kookiness' is not a new direction. We sympathise with them, we love them and we dislike them often at the same. It’s fresh, it’s witty and is definitely one to watch over and over with the girlies (and guys?!). But, oh wait, it isn’t a romcom. Or is it? A fateful romance dressed in rom-clothes perhaps?

Grade: B+ (8/10)