As you can tell by my previous reviews of "love stories" I don't share the typical boy meets girl romance fascination. I love how the movie starts out with a narration...and warns us that this is not a love story.I think the reason I adore this film as much as I think I male hero loves Summer, is how I can sort of relate to both characters at the same time at different points in the movie. We are caught up with the spark that first brings this excitement of what we envision as The Love of Our Life...only to be somewhat disappointed as the layers start to peel as the days go on.
I like how the male lead shows hints of his passion for architecture. This brings up my own memories of showing my love for music and art to the so called people I thought would be "the one". But I have been often the case the heartbreaker as well, as Summer sometimes starts pulling away...as you see in Zooey Daschanel's character.
I'm not really a fan of Daschanel's. I have yet to say that even this character she plays is an exception. She tends to not show that much emotion or range, and I'm still dumbfounded that a lot of people ask her to do all these movies...(It could also be my bad taste left over from The Happenning...so it could just be guilt by association). But I digress...
If anything, I think what makes this film work is it's innovative way of describing what we think love is, how we fantasize what loves is about, what love actually is (I love the split screen scene in which the male lead looks forward to seeing Summer during a rooftop party...) The music works well, and is almost like a cinematic equivalent to a Death Cab for Cutie music video, without the DCFC music .
As a whole, I give this 500+ stars. For Joseph Gordin-Levitt, he's now on my list of stars to watch out for. (Plus, he bears a similar resemblance to Heath Ledger, am I wrong?)
Alas, this one can only write of such movies. After watching this film, I feel compelled to become the architect of my own love story...write a screenplay...and show how love can be, all it's ups, downs, and its turnarounds...
In the end, even if we meet by coincidence, it is up to us to take action to take that moment further into more than just mere chance!
