In a time when we are being constantly bombarded by copycats of the so called breakthrough indie. Its a rare joy and privilege to finally see something that really stands out. Every five years or so we are blessed with a shinning gem of indie splendor. Most of the time these blips are so good they quickly become taboo by the time they reach DVD. Films such as Clerks, Garden State, Lost in Translation, and Y' Tu Mama Tambien among many others. Most cinefiles find themselves hating these movies after hoards of uncultured frat kids bombard them with "Omagosh! have you seen that movie its like sooooo good." as they blast the key tracks from the soundtrack from inside of their mom's beemer. I am glad to say that Marc Webb's freshman feature will surely join the ranks of these classics, and all of us film geeks will be bashing it with our arms crossed before winter.
From the opening title card 500 days takes us on a hilarious, joyful, and sometimes painful ride through a modern day love affair. Anyone who has ever had a relationship with the opposite sex of any sort of consequence will find something to laugh/cry at. There are so many nails hit flawlessly on the head its scary. I wish I knew the process of Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber (writers) whether this was all from personal experience or just a good idea that popped into their budding screenwriting brains. Either way, the screenplay itself is nearly perfect (I will elaborate on "nearly" in a bit.) Webb and the duo of writers are a match made in movie heaven. I was surprised at the end credits that the writer(s) and director were not one in the same. The pacing and direction of actors throughout the scenes of dialogue is spot on, you hang on every word as if the entire film was the climax of some psychological thriller even though this will no doubt be shamelessly lumped into the rom-com category. The styling of the film will be envied and copied for years to come, managing to have an almost whimsical fantasy styling in some scenes while seamlessly balancing with scenes out of Greek tragedy. It has been a long time since so many fresh ideas have been brought into one 90 or so minute piece of American cinema. The stars of this piece have a kinetic chemistry rarely found in a romantic couple. They fit together so well it makes it that much more crucial for the viewer for them to come together. Joseph Gorden-Levitt really shines here, you cant be happier when he is happy and when he is sad, boy gosh golly are you bummed. You feel for him throughout the whole film, hoping and praying his dreams will come true. Zooey Deschanel is fantastic as well, those damn eyes will get you every time, and you fall in and out of love with her at the exact right moments. This is not the first time these two have been onscreen together, in 2001 they co-stared together in Jordan Melamed's Manic, a film a bit tough around the edges but another great example of JGL and Zooey's chemistry, and a good thing to throw on the netflix que.
I have a few complaints however. While the direction, cinematography, the entire art department and cast are great. The writers bummed me out a bit in the last scene. I wont ruin it for you, but I smell some studio involvement here. The only other thing that stood out against the film (and I may just be being picky here) was the soundtrack. Don't get me wrong, the soundtrack was great, everything fit, timing was good, and a varied selection, and I am sure all of those fore-mentioned frat kids will be running up to me asking if I have ever listened to the smiths. However its old, most of the songs came out a few years ago if not more. With a cinematic style as fresh as this I expected a soundtrack of equal or greater freshness to go along with it.
All in all this is a great movie, I recommend it to anyone, from you, to your 12 year old brother, to your grandmother, to your boss, there is really something here for everyone. You are going to want to watch it again and again and run out and buy/illegally download the soundtrack as soon as you get out of your seat. But truly, this is worth your 12 bucks at the arclight or whatever other cinemateque of your choosing, and besides you don't want to be one of those people who saw the movie 6 months after everyone else.
9.5/10
-Ben
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