500 days of summer is a superior anti-romance starring Joseph Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschanel as a couple who meet, have a relationship and fall out of love.

The film charts the 500 days that Tom Hansen (Levitt) knows Summer Finn (Deschanel), it starts with the warning that this is not a love story and definitely doesn't have a happy ending, from that moment I was hooked and knew I'd love it!!

So basically that is the plot in a nutshell, Tom falls for the flakey, lovely Summer and she is very fond of him, however their relationship doesn't work out and the film charts this by moving between those 500 days at various points so we sometimes see moments that are more recent than others, this sounds confusing but works perfectly in providing a narrative of a relationship and helps us see why certain aspects in the early stages of the relationship affect those later on.

Cast:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt ... Tom Hansen
Zooey Deschanel ... Summer Finn
Geoffrey Arend ... McKenzie
Chloe Moretz ... Rachel Hansen
Matthew Gray Gubler ... Paul
Clark Gregg ... Vance
Patricia Belcher ... Millie
Rachel Boston ... Alison
Minka Kelly ... Autumn - Girl at interview
Charles Walker ... Millie's New Husband
Ian Reed Kesler ... Douche
Darryl Alan Reed ... Bus Driver
Valente Rodriguez ... Employee #1
Yvette Nicole Brown ... New Secretary
Nicole Vicius ... Partygoer

My Opinion:

I loved this indie film, the soundtrack is awesome, with some old classics and little known masterpieces, the acting is understated and real and the script doesn't pull any punches, it doesn't try to throw in a saccharine induced happy ending, the ending is optimistic but open and this for me is more real than the typical hollywoodisation of love, as it doesn't always work out.

Levitt and Deschanel are excellent as the obsessed Tom and flighty Summer, neither are villainous or heroic, they are just real and both justified in their feelings and actions. The supporting cast are very good with Chloe Moretz in particular showing good form as a wise kid, prior to her breakthrough role in Kick Ass.

Overall this is a refreshing American film about the realities of relationships, its not a 5 out of 5 film as it just isn't a classic, it is very good, but not great, but it is a really good film that I have recommended to others and will recommend to you. I bought a copy in CEX for £4.99 but it is available on Amazon also for £6.99 new.