Movies that Put Life into Perspective: 500 Days of (Summer) Edition

I am a romantic, when I meet someone and feel a connection I become a ball of mush and wear my feelings on my sleeve.  In times like these there are certain things I cling to to help give me perspective, usually I use my friends to help give me guidance in situations like this.  As my regular readers know,  I am home in Albany, NY and there aren't many friends around here for me to talk with.  My friends have been great via phone and face book, but there was something that helped put things into perspective even more today, the film 500 Days of Summer (2009).

The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Tom) and Zooey Deschanel (Summer) a pair of friends/lovers.  The film takes us on a journey throughout the different days of their relationship, and as the narrator says at the beginning of the film "This is a story of boy meets girls but you should know up front this is not a love story."  Tom is a hopeless romantic who believes that love exists, and is powerful, while Summer is the opposite and thinks that love is silly.   Without giving any of the plot of the film away, 500 Days of Summer highlights those key moments when you meet someone and how those moments make you feel.  After their first time having sex Tom has a dance number choreographed to a Hall and Oates song.

I have to say I connect with the Tom character (a lot).  I too may have misread The Graduate (until I grew up) and well like Tom idealizes Summer and the relationship that they have; he makes too much out things and there are moments where his idealizations become a hopeful reality.  There are moments in all of our lives when everyone does this with someone they like, but none more than Tom in this film.  Usually this film makes me mope and hope for love, but today this film made think how relationships are complicated and there are so many ways in which they can be defined.  I think film (realistic well-made films) can shed light on things going on in our lives.  Now I just saw Super 8 tonight and I do not think that will help me solve any unsolved mysteries, but there was something that told me to turn on HBO today and this movie was on.  It put a smile on my face, and as I type to the soundtrack I will close this with a big smile on my face.