First Hit: I liked this film because it felt thoughtful. And, although the ending is telegraphed, the acting, sequencing of the scenes and direction kept the story alive and fresh all the way through.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Tom Hanson a young man who believes that true love only happens once in a lifetime. When he meets Summer Finn (played by Zooey Deschanel) he immediately feels that cosmic, this is it, connection.
The story is about their 500 days together which go from this first meeting until their last meeting. The film plays scenes in different orders. Sometime showing an early scene and transitioning to a later scene with an expansion of the idea or concept they are grappling with.
At other times the film plays a later scene first then transitioning to an earlier scene showing where the idea or concept first came into their relationship. This technique was very effective for this film and kept me focused and interested.
The story, overall, is effective and brings out what happens in many budding relationships; one person feels more than the other. There is an honor in each having their point of view which plays out well in this film and was enjoyable to watch.
Gordon-Levitt was excellent as was Deschanel. They played well together and one could feel the right level of chemistry between them to make this film work. Marc Webb directed this well written screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber.
Overall: A very nice interesting film that plays out in some very wonderful scenes by competent actors.