I see the skyline of downtown Los Angeles. Two different frames. Bright circular light bulbs. The words “Expectations” and “Reality”. Two smiling people touching hands and one sad person alone with a bottle of beer in his hand. An orange candle. A white ball in the top right corner of the left frame. A lit skyline in one frame and a non-lit skyline in the other. Palm trees. Buildings (non-skyscrapers). A flower in the bottom right of each frame. A colorful dress. A dull suit and tie. Eye contact. Staring aimlessly.
This is an image from (500) Days of Summer. Contextually it’s important to know that Tom’s relationship with Summer is rapidly declining. Tom is a hopeless romantic while Summer does not want to label their relationship. This image is Tom’s expectations of how a night with Summer will go and the reality of what happens.
Yes I believe there is truth in this image. It is so simple but it is so relatable. Everyone has experienced some form of disappointment in their lives. It is such a beautiful yet brutally real image to me because of how honest it is. While life can be filled with joy there are moments that are usually not captured where the world seems to be against you but director Marc Webb really illustrates the depressing emotions expressed by Tom.