The Film Thugs Movie Show

So, I am a bit behind on my reviewing. Actually, quite behind. I told myself I was going to post at least every other day and.... Well, you see how that's going. Right now there are about 8 movies I've seen in the past few days but have decided review wise to start with one I finished a few minutes ago, and that lucky film is....

That's right (500) Days of Summer. I know. I am as surprised as you are by this one, in many ways. For starters I decided I wasn't going to see or enjoy this film a long time ago. There are a few things about it that hit the "NO" switch for me. Something about the parentheses in the title, the clever double entendre of the name, the genre, and the inclusion of Zooey Deschanel put this on my no fly. Oh, and it was billed as a romantic comedy, so that kind of put two in the back of its head.

Granted, I have many friends, many of whom I trust implicitly (that would be you Nancy) who told me how good it was. I just couldn't give in. At a point I started wanting to but had made such a massive prick out of myself screaming, "No, NO, NOOOO!!" that I couldn't really backtrack and save face. Then the fine folk at Sony Pictures gave me an out.

I had to see the only feature directed by the man Sony thought was the right choice to replace Sam Raimi to direct the next Spider Man. It was perfect. Here we are talking about one of the biggest film franchises EVER, directed by a man who has been a cult sensation from his first film. I was clean off the hook.

Don't get me wrong. I realize how empty this excuse is. The director of the next Spider Man is about as important as who'll be catering it. Not that the director isn't important, but come on! This is Spider Man and Sony just cut loose the guy who built the franchise out of a giant pile of money. They need a guy who has a taste of success and some amount of skill who will do what he is told.

So, that aside I watched (500) Days of Summer and was completely blown away. Now, this isn't a piece of genre defining, paradigm shifting filmmaking. What it is, is a very impressive piece of filmmaking that is both visually impressive, but also stylistically and narratively inventive, engaging, and ballsy. That's right, ballsy. They tell you up front that you are not watching a love story. They invite you along and tell you that what you are seeing is doomed and you stay right there with them.

On it's most basic level this is the story of Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a greeting card writer who enters into a relationship with Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel). We see them come together and fall apart. Now, were this a standard narrative it wouldn't have much impact. However it shifts back and forth throughout the 500 days of the relationship, many times not giving you the context for what you are seeing until much later, thrusting you back and forth through the upheaval of a relationship with someone who isn't really as into it as you are. So the whole "romantic comedy" thing was basically just bullshit.

This film takes HUGE chances and they pay off. It plays not only with non linear, but shifting perspective on scenes, and very inventive split screen. While it is all told from Tom's point of view the use of non linear allows his perspective to change and gives us a new way of seeing something we thought we understood.

There are some parts of this movie that are painful, especially if you've ever been in a relationship with someone who has checked out while you were still fully invested. But that makes it all the more powerful.

I can see how this appears to be one of those "free spirited woman shows the up tight guy how to really live" type movies like "Garden State." That is something else I held against it. It isn't that kind of movie.

One of the reasons I thought this is the presence of the female lead. Zooey Deschanel is not one of my favorite actresses. I don't know if it's her style or just the parts but she always seems disconnected, ambivalent, and almost apathetic. For some reason that puts her in the "free spirit" role. She's always seemed kind of blank to me. Strange thing, that works perfectly in this part. There is a distance she communicates that is integral to the film as a hole.

The real stand out performance to me was Chloe Moretz (Hit Girl from Kick Ass, and star of the upcoming remake of "Let the Right One In.") as Tom's little sister who is not only his advisor and confidant, but the crisis intervention specialist his friends call in. She was 12 at the time this came out, but I honestly think she is just a short 30 year old. There is a maturity to the way she talks and carries herself that really makes it hard to believe she is that young. This isn't some kid saying grown up lines getting an "awww! Ain't that cute?" from the audience. It feels more like you're watching one of those parent/kid switch bodies movies from a different point of view. She is remarkable and I look forward to seeing more from her.

The other performances are fantastic. Gordon-Levitt is great, as usual. Geoffrey Arned of Super Troopers and being married to Christine Hendricks fame stands out particularly well as Tom's best friend. There are others, but that shit would get repetitive fast. Let me just throw out a blanket the supporting cast was superb line and be done with it.

In short, I really liked this movie. I liked it more than I though I would and I wish I had seen it sooner. I think you will like it if you let yourself. There are some cutesy things but they work with the style and aren't annoyingly so. More than anything, I think this is a movie most people can relate to on a very real level and that is a very hard thing to achieve.