Thursday 6 January 2011

500 days of summer



Fox Searchlight Pictures


Finally watched this 2009 film and feel a bit confused. I think I will need a bit longer to form an opinion...it is a love story which makes it clear from the very first sentence that it is not a love story. Boy meets girl but girl is a commitment phobic until she meets Mr. Right - which unfortunately is not the boy and we watch him suffer until he finally gets over her.
I like the story as it is a bit unusual and I like that the film is told in an unchronological way.  Another big plus is that it is simply stylish. At the beginning it was actually that chic that I wasn't sure if the setting is really now and not the 60's. Choice of music is fantastic too and the soundtrack might be something to look out for.
Downsides? It's the first time I have come across Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt; they both were ok, he sometimes even a bit James Dean like but she? Annoyed the hell out of me! Those big blue, watery and contact lensed eyes...probably she just got to play an awkward character here which makes it nearly impossible to sympathise with but she didn't fully convince me.
So in general the film is extremely pleasant to look at and to listen too but the plot and the characters are somewhat lacking. Some of the creative bits of the film (e.g. split screen to show reality vs. expectation, a musical dance scene with a cartoon bird a la Disney etc.) where great in a nearly "Amelie"-way but they were missing a connection and appeared to be lost.

1 comment:

  1. Das war einer der Filme, die JEDER nennt, die man UNBEDINGT gesehen haben muss. Aber ehrlich gesagt.. hab ihn im Oktober 13 aufgenommen und letztens geguckt. Joah. Nett. Musik super. Story rgendwie cute, nicht so aufregend, nicht so übertrieben. Aber gerade Zooey hat mich auch echt genervt, sollte sie ja vielleicht auch. Ist ja auch die Böse im Film, wenn man es so will... well, welll... werde ihn wohl trotzdem in die Liste der Filme die ich mag aufnehmen. Wegen Musik und Unaufgeregtheit :)

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