University life hasn't really begun. I had my first day of classes today but I only have a few pages of reading to do for tomorrow. Got most of my textbooks, though they don't have all of them there. Not quite sure what I'm going to do about that at this point. The bookstore is less bookstore and more hour-long-sauna thanks to the hundreds of people in line. Amazingly, no one was openly grumpy. I was listening to my iPod when I realized that NO ONE ELSE was listening to theirs to I took my earbuds out just in case I was missing out on some horribly witty banter or important information. I wasn't, so I put them back on. I chose the wrong line up because it went through the section with all of the English to (insert language here) dictionaries so I didn't have any interesting books to look through.
Two days ago I was feeling claustrophobic in my dorm room so I went for a train ride. I ended up getting off at Churchill station which leads to this ginormous mall that was all closed down for the evening and I walked until I started to see people, which took a while. I discovered a movie theatre tucked away in the corner of the top floor after two sets of escalators. While I really wanted to see a movie, I wasn't sure if I would be able to see one and not miss the last train back to campus. 500 Days of Summer was short so I settled on that, though I wasn't overly excited at the idea. Romantic comedy. Whatever.
Boy was I wrong.
It is amazing. It's not a romance, rather it was an exploration of love meeting like. Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn't. Anyone who's ever loved someone, or even come close, can get something from this movie. I'm not sure how there were dry eyes in the house. I found it hard to laugh because I spent the entire second half on the edge of tears and - I'll admit it - I wound up crying despite myself on several occasions.
The way Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)lists the things he loves about Summer (Zooey Deschanel), it's perfect. Love is a force that pulls you towards a person. Well, I'm not sure if that's true actually... It puts your field of focus on them. Your orbit isn't the closest perhaps, but everything is pointed towards them. All of the little specifics that nobody else notices. Tom points out her birthmark, her laugh, the way she gently moves her lips before speaking. It's so refreshing to see a movie that truly, truly reflects reality. The writers (Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber) crafted the screenplay perfectly. Tom never comes off as unhealthily obsessed even though thoughts of Summer become the only thoughts he is capable of. As Summer's affection wanes, Zooey Deschanel pulls out some exquisite acting (the entire movie is nearly flawless in this regard) as she responds to Tom. The way she looks away when he pulls out a record by her favorite Beatle with a big smile broke my heart. Desperate to get away, though giving a half hearted attempt to be friendly while expressing her discomfort. Precisely what people do. I do it when I want to get away from someone.
One scene that I didn't like was the scene where Tom was telling Summer that "we're in a relationship, dammit!" I felt Joseph Gordon-Levitt's acting was, I don't know... It didn't match up with the rest of the film stylistically. Maybe that's a directing (Marc Webb) flubb (one of the very few in this film). Still, I found it jarring and I lost contact with the world for a few moments - though I was drawn back in just as quickly.
The only other part that I questioned was the voice-over narrator. I am so, so, happy that Tom's voice wasn't used to narrate but I wasn't happy with the voice that was chosen. It was very movie-announcer-guy and that didn't fit. Too epic. I don't know what would have. Some other male non-character voice that had a little bit more realism to it might have done it. A nondescript voice that drew attention to the words and not the sound. Audible text that would flow directly without misleading inflection. Running the middle of monotone and expressive, unique and uniform. Honestly though, I loved the presence of the narrator. The quirky exposition and philosophizing and commentary was essential. It was a story about love, not a love story - it required narration! These more to it than what we can see if we are to fully understand.
Walking home from the movie was more of a sprint. I almost missed the last train. Edmonton has this huge river valley and the feeling you get when the train shoots out into it was indescribable in both darkness and light. In the night because can't see anything through the glare of the in-train fluorescent lighting, and in the day time because the view is magnificent. Just like flying. Got back to my residence. My floor isn't a party floor and I'm thankful. I mostly refuse to use the elevator so my hips hurt from going up eight flights three or four times a day. Dodgeball on friday. The Lister Centre (my res) has one of the largest dodgeball leagues in the world so there's no way in hell I'm not going to participate. I hope I get into the mixed chorus - I think my audition went great. He said that I'm a baritone-bass and will sing bass (didn't mention the "if you get in" part. Goodnewsbears?) which is unfortunate in that I want to improve my high register. F# would be an extraordinarily handy note to have in my pocket most days.
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