“I love The Smiths.”
“Sorry?”
“I said I love The Smiths.”
This scene of Summer talking to Tom in the elevator has been shared so widely online that nearly anyone who’s spent time on Instagram Reels or TikTok is familiar with it.
If the extent of your knowledge on the film (500) Days of Summer was just this clip, you might be quick to assume that it was a classic romcom: that old story of a boy meeting a girl and falling in love. However, if you were to actually watch the film, you’d be proven wrong just a few minutes in.
The film, (500) Days of Summer, follows the nonlinear story of Tom Hansen, a hopeless romantic, who falls for Summer Finn, a nonbeliever of true love. The film explores the 500 days of their relationship, from when they first interact in that elevator on the fourth day of meeting to when it ends through Tom’s perspective. As Tom recalls key moments of their past, he realizes the gap between his romantic expectations and the reality of their emotionally uneven relationship. Tom goes through the stages of grief: denial when he thinks she could love him, anger when he begins to resent Summer, bargaining when he still clings onto the hope that they’ll reunite, depression when he isolates himself and stops caring about work, and finally acceptance when he works on personal growth and moves on, even going on to meet Autumn. The film ultimately reflects on love, heartbreak, and most importantly, personal growth.
It’s not just the plot that makes the film interesting, but also the style of it. (500) Days of Summer has a distinctive visual style that mirrors its unconventional approach to storytelling. The cinematography is made up of a mix of static and dynamic shots which together reflect Tom’s emotional state. Close-ups are used to effectively capture Tom’s reactions. The film’s color palette and production design also further enhances its storytelling. Summer is frequently associated with the color blue, such as in her clothing, creating a cool and almost dreamlike aura around her character. The film is composed of mostly muted and desaturated tones which reflect the nostalgic and melancholic tone of the narrative while warmer tones are used to depict scenes of happiness or romantic fantasy. The colors and different types of camera shots all come together to further emphasize the split between expectations and reality in the plot. The visual style along with its non-linear storytelling and stylistic montages like animated interludes and musical numbers, highlight the complexities of romantic idealization and emotional growth.
This film explores the key difference between love and infatuation. At first glance Tom does appear to love Summer. He’s constantly spending time with her, going on dates, etc. Even though she couldn’t return his feelings, he was always hung up on the idea that she would change her mind and that the two of them would end up together. This is what shows the audience that Tom’s feelings for Summer aren’t actually love–it’s obsession, and it’s not even with her. It’s with the romanticized idea of her that he has in his head. He idealizes their “relationship” together, imagining them as more than what they actually are. Summer made it clear from the start that she wasn’t looking for something like that, especially not with him.
This is what makes the fallout all the more painful. Tom was living in this fantasy daydream that Summer might just reciprocate his feelings when in reality, he was just manipulating himself. Tom lets his delusions change his perception of Summer and their relationship with each other so when Summer stops meeting with him he spirals and loses all sense of himself. However, this isn’t the end as his delusions stick with him even after their breakup. When Tom and Summer reunite, he briefly holds onto the hope that they might rekindle their relationship, but that hope fades when he learns she’s found someone else.
The audience of this film have mostly split themselves into two groups, one group supporting Summer and the other supporting Tom.
From first glance most of the audience would lean towards Tom’s side. This makes sense as the film is seen through his eyes and therefore most of the viewers adopt his perspective. Although the audience might be skewed to agree with him more, it’s still hard to pin the blame on either of them for the downfall of their relationship.
Tom Hansen represents the trope of the hopeless romantic. He’s the type to believe in fate and true love. He works as a greeting card maker after giving up his dreams of being an architect for something more realistic. To further paint this picture of Tom being a hopeless romantic, the writers juxtapose his view on his job to his view on love. When it comes to his profession, he’s willing to give up on his dream just to be safe. This is completely different from when he meets Summer, who completely flips his world around. When it comes to love, he’s the type to believe that anything is possible. He goes so far with this belief that he truly becomes delusional and believes that he’d be able to change Summer’s mind about love, to make her so completely enamored by him that she’d be willing to date him despite her belief.
It’s not hard to empathize with Tom. He had given his all into trying to make their relationship work. Even though he knew that Summer didn’t like him the way he liked her, he was still willing to put in the effort to try and make something work out.
Summer, on the other hand, was completely different from Tom. While he believed in the idea of true love, she didn’t believe in love at all. They discuss this too, after a night of karaoke. While Tom expresses how much he likes Summer, Summer makes it clear that she’s not interested in Tom in that light. However, when they start seeing each other, Tom, being the hopeless romantic that he is, believes that he can make Summer see him romantically. At some point it almost feels believable that he might succeed. But, despite all the romantic dates they go on though, Summer only ever saw Tom as a friend.
Even though it’s easy to blame Summer for the fall of their relationship and friendship, ultimately, both sides were at fault. Summer made it clear that she didn’t like Tom in that way, but she still chose to keep seeing him. In a way, she was using him for her own happiness without any regard to how he felt. She knew that Tom liked her and didn’t care if her actions would end up hurting him in the end.
However, Tom was also at fault. He had an image of a picture perfect relationship stuck in his mind, even though Summer told him she’d never see him the way he wanted her to. He was a hopeless romantic and projected all of his ideals onto Summer, expecting things to work out perfectly in his favor even though it was highly unrealistic. He chose to still go after Summer and try to convince her to like him the way he liked her despite knowing that his efforts were going nowhere. In the end, he just ended up getting himself hurt.
Even though Tom ends up getting heartbroken by Summer, he ultimately learns from this relationship. He realizes later on that he wasn’t actually in love with Summer, just the idea of her, an idealized version of her that he projected onto her. He learns from his mistake and eventually meets Autumn, someone who might just be better suited for him.
In today’s world of dating, I would argue that (500) Days of Summer remains more relevant than ever. Tom and Summer’s relationship never fits into the category of boyfriend and girlfriend despite their closeness. Summer makes it clear that she doesn’t want anything serious. This mirrors the rise of “situationships,” where emotional intimacy exists without clear labels or long-term commitment. Tom’s emotional investment in Summer reflects how often we project our desires onto someone who may not be able to reciprocate them. Their relationship, like many today, are characterized by blurred boundaries and mixed signals. Tom and Summer’s relationship captures an increasingly familiar pattern in today’s society–one person falling harder while the other remains distant. In the end, (500) Days of Summer doesn’t just explore heartbreak, it also highlights the dissonance between romantic ideals and reality, a theme that’s only growing more prevalent in our current dating culture.
To watch (500) Days of Summer (rental fee required), click HERE.
In today’s world of dating, I would argue that (500) Days of Summer remains more relevant than ever. Tom and Summer’s relationship never fits into the category of boyfriend and girlfriend despite their closeness. Summer makes it clear that she doesn’t want anything serious. This mirrors the rise of “situationships,” where emotional intimacy exists without clear labels or long-term commitment.