It's only true love if she loves you back...

When do you know you've met "the one?" It is asked throughout the ages, yet I can't find anyone that can give a definitive answer to what seems like a simple question. Countless movies have been made about such feelings of destiny and fate. (500) Days of Summer adds to the catalog of these romantic comedies, but uses a somewhat unconventional way to get to the answer by telling us straight out at the beginning of the film--"You should know up front this is not a love story."

Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a hopeless romantic who believes in the classical Hollywood conceit of love at first sight. When he sees Summer (Zooey Deschanel), the new worker at the greeting card company where he works, he is instantly smitten and convinced he's met his soulmate. Summer seems oblivious to Tom's interests until her feelings are revealed in a makeout session in the copy room. From there, it's pure bliss for Tom, although we know unhappiness is likely on the horizon when Summer admits early on that she isn't a believer in true romance.
(500) Days of Summer skips back and forth in the timeline to give us various glimpses of what the 500 days of their relationship was like. But rather than being disjointed and confusing, this approach gives us a better understanding of events to compare and contrast. The peak of giddiness Tom feels after consumating their relationship is portrayed in a wonderful satire on a mainstay of the romantic comedy formula that combines a glimpse of Han Solo and a classic Hall and Oates track. Contrast to the loneliness and betrayal felt after their breakup when he is invited to a party thrown by Summer where he finds out some unsettling news. Casting Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel in the lead roles is wonderful. Although neither is what may be considered the epitome of beauty, they are mesmerizing, especially Zooey Deschanel whose blue eyes are enhanced by use of the color blue throughout the movie. The chemistry between the two is pitch-perfect as two individuals who seemed destined for each other and all the more painful to watch. We see the entire movie essentially from Tom's point of view, and sympathize completely with the heartbreak we know is about to unfold before our eyes.

So is this a downer of a film? Does this completely dispel the myth of fated love and destiny? Far from it, strangely enough. In deconstructing the relationship of Tom and Summer, we actually find some hope at the end of this movie that "the one" is truly out there somewhere.