500 Days of Summer successfully breaks the “classic love” stereotype. It brings viewers closer to what’s real, and what you perceive to be real, when you are in love. What particularly strikes, though, is the nonlinear narrative of the film, which is so thoughtfully created by Marc Webb. The continuous shifts between past, and present, reality, and expectation, make you realize how emotional journeys are everything, but a straightforward path.
Perspective on Reality
Tom, by the end of the movie, does realize that maybe it wasn’t Summer who was all magic, it was how he actually saw her. Many times, it so happens that we don’t realize some people are ordinary. It is how we perceive them that makes us go head over heels for them. Is there anything wrong with glorifying someone like that? Absolutely not. The heightened sense of happiness, the glow on your face, the smile that just won’t fade, all happen because you refuse to see the person normally. The feeling is something truly different from our normal worldly experiences. Can’t deny that!
For the longest time, I questioned myself: what’s the point of love if it can’t be that intense, that intoxicating, just like Tom felt for Summer? The answer, from my perspective, was that a reality check once in a while is not so bad. Yes, you can enjoy the highs, but ground yourself. Because the higher you get, the deeper the fall. That doesn’t mean you’ll end up in a ditch, or never be able to pull yourself out, it just means it’ll take a lot out of you.
For some, the healing journey can be so heavy that it leaves the good moments feeling totally worthless. And that’s genuinely sad. Tom’s work is affected. He cannot sleep. He cannot simply pull himself back together. And boy, that stage is the worst of all. And all this while, Summer is just fine, rather, engaged. So I guess it’s a good thing to believe someone when they say, “I’m not looking for something serious,” rather than just thinking, “No, I can change that mindset of yours.”
Making sure that both are on the same page is important, and what’s even more important is not losing yourself in love, so much that you can’t find the person you actually are.
Love Through Rose-Tinted Glasses
Post-heartbreak, it is so very evident how Tom’s mind only focuses on the good, and happy memories. Right from the IKEA date to the shared moments on the bench, Tom continuously chooses to remember the times where he felt the happiest. And that’s how most of us generally function.
We often refuse to see the other side of it. For the longest time, Tom refused to see how Summer didn’t hold his hand in the record store, how she called it a day even though Tom wanted to spend more time with her, how she consistently reminded him that she liked him only as a friend. After hitting rock bottom, and spending days in heartbreak, Tom, after talking to his younger sister, realizes that those things were signals from Summer all along. He just chose not to see.
We choose not to see the bad parts, the hurtful memories, because we want to believe that love is superior. But the truth is something far off. This is exactly how emotional memory manipulates us to see an emotionally edited, idealized version of somebody, someone who may, or may not be deserving of all that.
Truth Is Beautifully Painted
The heartbreak Tom felt, I’d be lying if I said we haven’t all been there. Something that once seemed so meaningful now lies in faint memories you sometimes even wish to forget. The journey is nonlinear. Sometimes you feel okay, and on other days you’re lying on your bed, wide awake at 4 a.m., questioning why you met the person in the first place. Some days you think, “Yes! I can move on!” Others are more like, “I’m emotionally drained. I don’t think I’ll ever love someone again.”
To sum it all up, yes, it’s messy. It’s sad, and fragmented. It’s scary, and so very real. Only time, honestly, fixes these wounds. Maybe not completely, the scars will forever show, but at least it doesn’t nearly kill you every time you hear their name. After all, Tom does work on himself, pursues his passion in architecture, and even meets someone who can bring back a smile that was otherwise long lost. Let’s not forget how thoughtfully that girl was named Autumn.
What’s More to Say?
Storyline – Amazing. Characters – Beautifully written. Message – Real, and well-received.
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