One thing I love is the subtle irony of how Summer "shows the camera" the engagement ring when she hugs him in the "reality" frame and then "hides" it from him in following scenes by having it hidden under the book and having her hold her drink with her other hand until he finally notices it.

The amount of painstaking detail in this scene makes it one of the greatest movie moments ever in my opinion. A brilliant piece of cinema.

This scene is so fucking good when his reality gets erased like that is just so depressing and beautiful ugh

You can see little clues of how little Tom knows about Summer. He gave her a book about architecture, and in the reality shot, she forces her smile, implying she doesn´t like it at all. But later on, she makes that remark about how Tom would be a great architect if he just work for it (implying she does knows his dreams and ambitions, and compliments him for that) but he misunderstands her and reply in a hurt manner. Also, is very clear that he never expect Summer to pay attention to anybody else but him, and never tries to meet any of her friends (when Summer already knows his friends)

Great analysis. Two small things I think you guys missed were the gate to Summer's apartment being like the bars to a kind of cage or prison cell which he willingly walks into at the beginning, but at the end exits, and also while Tom is walking away from the gate he passes a couple walking in the opposite direction that the camera lingers on for only a moment. The relationship literally and metaphorically passes Tom by.

Possibly my favourite scene in any film I've seen. The little details are amazingly portrayed, like the fact he takes longer to go up the stairs and also the gathering being smaller in his expectations. It's a truly heart-breaking scene that is effectively presented with the split screen approach. Thanks for the analysis, you've gained a new subscriber!

"And we're trying to be faithful but we're cheatin', cheatin', cheatin'", that's the lyric where they pushed the expectation frame out. Just thought of it as another interesting detail. Kudos on the awesome analysis!

At 20:41, a couple walks in the opposite direction right in his moment of despair. This may symbolise how all his hopes for a long lasting relationship with Summer are now left behind. I mean, this cannot be a coincidence.

Very key observation of expectations is that it is flowing and calm and reality is lengthy and tense.

This entire movie has established in the end what it promised us right at the beginning: This is Not a Love Story. Period! There is no room for Summer's perspective throughout the movie. There is no depiction of Summer's view of Tom. The entire movie only shows Tom's perspective, even Summer is only seen through Tom's eyes. It only serves to clinch how one-sided Tom's affair with Summer was. He was into it. She was not. She tried to but couldn't seem to find connection. In Tom's eyes, Summer was in love with him. Therefore, Tom was in love with only the idea of Summer loving him. The cinematography, the screenplay beautifully establishes the stark contrast between Man's inner world and his outer world. Tom has built up the image of Summer and himself together in his mind. Sadly, he is awakened to a tragic shattering of that image. This movie is truly about Tom and only Tom and him meeting Summer. This movie isn't about Tom and Summer. It's about Tom growing up from the romantic movies hd saw as a child and the British pop music.

15:00 Summer asks/says: "Do you guys know each other?" To 2 guys at the party... meanwhile he is by himself meeting none of her friends...

I was surprised you guys didn't mention right at the end, before the fade out to animation and everything being erased, the way he jumps in shock and quickly walks into the street, and there is a few seconds of nothing, before we see a couple walk into the frame. This was a tremendous touch and a cap to this scene and his inability to handle reality and his suddenly being aware of their presence was a terrifying reminder of what he doesn't have.

one more thing to notice is the foreshadowing of marriage with toms statement. Also relates to how summer dumped him: "why make something disposable like a building, when you can make something that last forever like a greeting card" he thought she was the one he would spend the rest of his life, but she just dumped him like if he was something disposable.

Just saw this movie ... Man, that hit way too close to home.

You can just tell a total film studies nerd made this film. Loved this video!

I feel the sadness slightly go through me everytime i watch this scene . It stones me and make me want to pause everything around me for a while . Probably the most heartbreaking scene i ever watch in a romance movie . Too bad there's no subtittle because i'm bad at listening . But thanks for make me realize that there are other people who notice and embrace this scene ;)

I got my first and only tattoo from the powerful impact of this scene. I'm so glad that someone else took the time to realize and analyze what makes this scene so special.

at 13:16 you can see a yellow rose at the bottom- yellow roses symbolise appreciation of FRIENDS or PLATONIC love. this movie is truly a work of art.

Is Summer’s fiancée at the party? I thought he wasn’t, or else, Tom would have noticed the whole situation from the start. Nevertheless, although he had unrealistic expectations not only at the party, but throughout their entire relationship, this is one, out of several moments, in which Summer acts without thinking the impact it would have on him. She knew how crushed he was with her breakup. She shouldn’t have invited him to a party or tried to maintain contact.

Seeing this in the cinema at 12 years old absolutely blew my little mind

Guys you missed the buildings! They are closer and higher up in the expectations.

This is great, an analysis of The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind would be fantastic.

It’s funny that my two favorite movie scenes ever both feature Jason Gordon Levitt: Ecpectations Vs Reality in 500 Days of Summer and the hallway scene in Inception

Roberto + Brandt = Two complete geniuses in the realm of cinematalkgraphy. What an incredible analysis, thank you so much! :D Also just to add to the analysis, there are yellow carnations on the balcony. The yellow carnations are a symbol of unrequited love.

VERY good observation @ 11:00. I didn't notice that. The sunsets in the Expectation shot with Summer and Tom but slight darkness in the Reality shot with Tom by himself. It kind of sets the mood.

I came from double toasted, i stayed for the awesome analysis,. i guess im going to spending the rest of my evening watching all your other videos.

deepest movie, tbh up in the top 10s for me

this has been so helpful for my studies on narrative structural thesis, thankyou!

My question is: how the fuck did Marc Webb go from making stuff like this to making the Amazing Spider-Man movies?

Also notice how you can hear the passion in the background music when we're shown the passion of Tom which he has for Summer when they start kissing in his expectations. The music also sounds like a struggle because that's the point when he's trying to apply his expectations to reality by hoping for them but it just doesn't work. Very sad and beautiful at the same time. I feel his heartbreak, really. I had many crushes who hated me in the past or used me.

Outstanding work fellas.i really enjoyed the video from start to finish....

does anybody else think there are too many coincidences between tom and ted mosby? I think there might be a critical take on that type of character and the image of love that it delivers.

"Whereas reality is not gonna be quite like that...it's gonna be LIT" - LOL 🤣

Great analysis. I can't wait to catch up on your other videos and I def subscribed.

this video was great, you deserve way more recognition

I had my own bit of *expectations* sneak into the *reality* portion, in regards to Summer. While she is introducing partygoers, she asks, “Do you guys know each other?” I initially heard it as, “Do you guys know John?” Might be a silly observation, but it felt as though the audience got an Easter egg about Summer as she was, not as Tom perceived her. I thought that *John* was her fiancé’s name, and the fact that the audience heard it further solidified Tom’s own reality: He doesn’t matter to Summer as much as he assumed he did. Another man has entered the picture

super cool analysis guys, why don't you continue with this kind of content?

Right on. Why did Summer invite Tom without clarifying that it’s her freaking engagement party? Of course the poor guy will have false hopes. Even though neither character is a victim or villain, Summer displays a bit of a villainous and narcissistic streak here. That brings to mind their conversation on the bench: “He was already in your life, so why’d you dance with me at the wedding?” “‘Cause I wanted to.” “You just always do what you want, don’t you?”

Thankyou so much, I love this movie so much!!

Really good stuff guys

I love you guys analysis! It's my favorite scene ever. But just one thing, in this video, the stairs scene when Tom is rushing down from Summer's Apartment is missing a shot: Tom saying 'after you' to whom coming up the stairs. I didn't understand that part being in this scene at the first time I saw this movie, but after I watched again few times, I understood that he has a character that being nice. Just like Even though he found out Summer got engaged, he is not showing any anger to her or her friends, but just walking away.

amazing guys

Yet another movie that proves she’s never yours, boys. It’s just your turn. Focus on yourself, king. Never her.

Autumn deserves a movie with Tom. The theme would be "Autumn's search of Tom" highlighting the places where she saw Tom during the 500DOS timeline.

This scence 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭🙁🙁😔😔😔😔😔 grabs a tissue

brilliant. Thank you.

This damn movie, man. Such a bittersweet idea to watch it whilst peaking on Shrooms.

I cried.

I build my future arount my girlfriend too ... well you know the rest

I just thought the male lead character was highly immature. I had his problems when I was in high school. By the time I started my career, I was looking for women like Summer who didn't need commitment to have fun. What was he doing in college? He seems virginal in this movie.

4:00 i didnt expect that before

U guys are smart

Is the rooftop location on Miracle Mile, by any chance? Looks vaguely familiar

To me... it is just reallyyyy sad :((

what's the name of the song?!?! someone tell me please!

JC

If there are any women reading this, understand that most young men subconsciously think like Tom, viewing women as a means to sex and/or salvation. Source: I am a young man.

Boy, could you guys get over it already? You made the same point about 37 times. This clip could have been condensed into 5 minutes.

I wish they hadn't spelled it out with om screen words and the kludgy narrator. Then again it's a movie for them young and dumb with no attention span, so subtlety doesn't go over at all.

fantasy vs reality not expectation

amazing guys