(500) Days of Summer Review

To me this is a film about liberation - liberation from the grip of popular narratives of romance and self, giving way for the rise of the truly authentic self and experience of romance. I thought the most powerful scene in the film was the one in which Tom rages at the manipulativeness of the greeting card company in telling people how to feel, playing into and reinforcing popular narratives of self or romance, instead of letting people express themselves. The spiel channels Tom's rage at being deceived and marks the starting point for his emotional 'rebirth' of a mature authentic self. Up to that point, Tom has been utterly delusional, fitting Summer into his own preconceived ideas of romance as fed to him by popular media; in turn, Summer thoughtlessly plays with his feelings instead of considering the effect her actions truly have on him. The title conveys a brief, intense summer romance which is quickly over and gives way to a more mature 'autumn' of relationships - for both of them.