500 days of Summer

Tom is invited by his sister to reconsider his relationship with Summer, suggesting that he is only remembering the good. What follows is a flashback to moments in their relationship, some in which have been previously shown, but notably, there is a further development of these scenes. These past scenes have been compiled in the style of a montage and allow us to have a fuller perspective on the relationship as it takes a more realist approach where we are shown both the highs and the lows on the relationship between Tom and Summer.
For example, in the photocopy room where they had kissed in the past, we now see them experiencing distance following this moment. We see another shot, a close up, in which Summer avoids Tom’s offer to hold hands. Both characters were wearing black clothing, darkening the entire colour palette and underlining this separation.
The use of lighting demonstrates the different moments of the relationship – whilst some scenes are more brightly lit and contain a brighter colour palette, the scenes in which there is conflict holds a more sombre colour palette and murky lighting. The non-diegetic music playing in line with these scenes is quite melancholic and the lyrics address the idea of time and innocence which compliments the reflective and sober mood.

1. Tom’s mood is conveyed at the start of the segment as we see Tom face down, slouching over his bed and absentmindedly bouncing his ball suggesting a sense of boredom or more so, pensiveness. There is low-key lighting, casting a shadow across his face and the scene displays a rather dark colour palette and monochromatic colours. The ball is bounced out of sync and does not align with the beat that is playing from the non-diegetic music. As the scene progresses and the music is introduced further, the rate at which Tom is bouncing the ball begins to pick up in speed and eventually, the bouncing of the ball is eased into the music and is in time with the beat suggesting that Tom is