Romantic role reversal

(500) Days of Summer is an enjoyable,
aesthetically pleasing hipster romcom

INDIE CHARMERS: Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel

by MALCOLM FRASER

If there was any doubt that hipsters—that nebulous semi-subculture that remains ill-defined and much-maligned, especially by people who clearly belong to it—have gone mainstream, that doubt can be permanently erased by the release of (500) Days of Summer, the first big-budget hipster romcom. Its characters are directionless but ambitious, dress in shabby chic, listen to whiny singer-songwriters and enjoy ironic karaoke. They’re the clever, savvy and sensitive kids from Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist five or six years later.

Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a young man who’s abandoned his dreams of becoming an architect to toil as a greeting-card writer. He becomes smitten with Summer (Zooey Deschanel) when she comes to work in his office, and they strike up a friendship that quickly blossoms into romance—except that the commitment-phobic Deschanel refuses to “put a label” on their involvement, much to Gordon-Levitt’s frustration.

There’s something interesting in the film’s portrait of romantic relations, which it shares with the upcoming ultra-twee comedy Paper Heart: both films centre on a relationship between a sensitive, romantic guy and an aloof girl who refuses to commit. The films suggest a mini-phenomenon of gender role reversal; (500) Days is a sort of She’s Just Not That Into You self-help guide for the young man of today.

First-time director Marc Webb shapes the film in an elliptical, non-linear timeline, jumping back and forth between the titular 500 days of their relationship. It’s beautifully shot, and Webb makes an intriguing aesthetic choice—the film is set in Los Angeles, but completely avoids the usual landmarks, concentrating instead on the city’s historic downtown buildings.

The two leads are a pleasure to watch; Gordon-Levitt is very likeable, and as for Deschanel, your enjoyment of the film may depend on your views of her, as it’s basically an unabashed ode to her charms. With a consistently bedazzling look and emanating a carefree joie de vivre, she recalls Anna Karina in Godard’s ’60s films, a kind of idealized yet eternally frustrating embodiment of feminine mystique. In general, sensitive guys may cringe at the hurtful truths, and hipster-bashers will certainly want to stay away, but others will likely enjoy this refreshingly contemporary take on the romcom genre.

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER OPENS THIS
FRIDAY, JULY 24