500 Days of Summer (2009)

500 Days of Summer, directed by Marc Webb, is an offbeat romantic comedy about a young man’s search for true love. Our main character Tom (Joseph Gorden-Levitt) believes in such a thing as true love and when he meets Summer (Zooey Deschanel) he believes he has found the perfect girl. Summer on the other hand has a very different take on love. This film shows Tom’s storey as he spends his 500 days with Summer, and the ups and downs that comes when two people have two very different views when it comes to love.

Joseph Gorden-Levitt (3^rd Rock From The Sun, Inception) plays our main character Tom. Joseph is a young but excellent actor, he plays Tom as a slightly nervous yet charming person who believes in such a thing as true love. I like Joseph and in my opinion he was perfect for this role. What this film needed for this character to work was a good looking, young, funny and generally likable actor, which Joseph delivered perfectly. Joseph is able to play a whole host of roles and this film demanded he do that, from deliriously happy to depressingly sad to intensely frustrated and everything in-between. I could not think of another young actor who could have pulled off such a heart warming performance as Joseph did.

Now is it any wonder Tom falls in love with Summer, I mean who would fall for Zooey Deschanel (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Happening). Zooey plays the part of Summer, a alternative, qwerky, free spirit who has a very different view of love. I think Zooey is absolutely brilliant, she plays these kinds of roles, the innocent free spirit, in a few films and it just fits so wonderfully. Her and Joseph make a very convincing young couple and really get you believing in the love that is so obviously shared between them. I think Zooey is an excellent actress and particularly good at playing this type of role.

Now I’m not usually one for romantic comedies but I have to say this one stuck with me. The film is so wonderfully put together, so alternative from any other in its genre and the soundtrack is exactly what you need to listen to on a sunny summer’s day. For any readers thinking they don’t like rom-coms I have to agree with you, but this film is no typical rom-com. I found it to be a brilliant watch and have since seen it three or four times and still love it. I would recommend this film to anyone who likes a laugh and an oddly alternative feel good film. The important thing to remember is this is not a love story; it’s a story about love.

Written by Oliver Willis 

A Celebration of Young British Filmmakers

On March 5 British filmmakers from all over the country will be congregating at the BFI Southbank for the 11^th annual First Light Awards.

The 2012 First Light Awards is the most prestigious event for young British filmmakers of the year. First Light helps young people from all backgrounds develop skills, talent, creativity and confidence by giving them opportunities to create their own short films, with the help of industry professionals.

This year’s judges include: Danny Boyle, Edgar Wright, Danny Leigh, Laura Haddock, Jason Isaacs, David Hayman, Sam Mendes, Talulah Riley, Sam Taylor-Wood, Myanna Buring, Sam Clafin, Rebecca O’Brien, Tom Hooper, Frank Passingham, Emma Hindley, Roger Goldby, David Yates and Garry Lewis.  

The films created cover many topics and genres, and make use of today’s accessible digital technologies to tell their stories with them in control. The roles of cast and crew would have been undertaken by various members of the young people in the group. Each would have had the opportunity to write, act, shoot, direct, light, edit, produce and screen their own film.  

Barbara Broccoli, First Light Chair: “Filmmaking amongst young people across the UK has never been more popular. It is vitally important that young people from all backgrounds have a creative voice.”

The young filmmakers come from across the UK and a wide variety of social backgrounds and experiences, including those with refugee status, young offenders and those from deprived areas. Each filmmaker has imparted a unique aspect of themselves into their films.

The films themselves explore a wide variety of issues such as, female genital mutilation, homelessness and the lost youth of young care-givers, all of this is done through the art of creative story telling.

Barbara went on to say “The future of the British Film industry will benefit from the creative talents that have been nurtured by First Light and celebrated at the First Light Awards.”


The Watch Read Review team will be there bringing you coverage and interviews with this year's judges and nominees. 

To learn more about this year’s exciting entries, please visit the First Light website where you can see this year’s nominated films and cast your vote for The Audience Award 2012.

http://www.firstlightonline.co.uk/fl-awards/