(500) Days Of Summer (2009, Dir: Marc Webb)

Hollywood seems to have a knack of scaring me recently. Not from the instant shock of horrors or thrillers, but from the cold portrayal of women in seemingly innocent films. Closer (2004) was instantly memorable for its enjoyable stripclub scene, but Natalie Portman’s character also provoked a certain degree of discomfort. Never before had a female character been so shrewdly written to show that amount of sexual power that women have over men.

(500) Days Of Summer provides more of the same, although this time it’s disguised as a bittersweet romantic comedy. Here we have Joseph Gordon-Levitt, making up for the dull misstep that was 2006’s Brick, and the lovely Zooey Deschanel, finally finding a leading role worthy of her talents.

Marc Webb’s film owes a certain debt to Zach Braff – it’s cut from the same cloth as Garden State in both tone, and tones. The soundtrack (Reginor Spektor, Simon & Garfunkel, The Smiths, etc) is heavily reminiscent of the sort of artists that pepper Braff’s films, whilst the general feelgood bohemia of (500) Days Of Summer isn’t a million miles away either.

The film tells of the rocky romance between Tom and Summer, with time shifting effortlessly between the halcyon days of their blossoming affair, and their troublesome later days. The comedy is spot-on and uniquely original (including one of the best Star Wars references I’ve ever seen), and Tom’s best-friend, played by The Ringer’s Geoffrey Arend (of “When the fuck did we get ice-cream?” fame) provides a heavy dose of light relief.

Deschanel is the perfect fit for the film’s titular character. I first noticed her in Almost Famous, but she hasn’t really stood out since. The last film I saw her in was M. Night Shyamalan’s abysmal The Happening. I can’t actually remember her being in that film, as I seem to have – fingers crossed - successfully wiped it from my memory, but I’m sure she added a bit of eye-candy as Mark Wahlberg walked around looking perplexed.

The film marks the feature debut of director Marc Webb, a veteran from over a hundred music videos. It’s easy to see his style coming through in the film, with several arty flourishes that would be considered too left-field for a more mainstream film. My favourite shot was in a short montage showing Tom and Summer growing up, in splitscreen. On one side, the young Summer blew a dandelion flower. On Tom’s side of the splitscreen, a bunch of bubbles are blown into view - a match-cut that surpasses Kurbrick’s bone/space-station anyday.

Above everything, Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber’s script really hits the spot. I left the cinema with a sinking feeling of despair. There was no masked killer in this film – just a shrewd and calculating femme fatale. I don’t know which one’s worse – what good is a heartbeat when the heart’s broken?