(500) Days of Summer has adapted a trick many modern films take to circumvent the traditional three-act structure since the inception and popularization of Christopher Nolan's Memento. Tom, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is an office clerk who falls madly in love with his boss' coquet-for-an-assistant Summer, portrayed by Zooey Deschanel. Although pitched as a “not your typical boy-meets-girl” story at the very beginning of the film, this offering certainly falls within that realm.

The story is built on today's culture of women in the 21st century -- a time when they are tougher, have more freedom of choice, and are less inclined to the conformity of their parents. With women carrying just as much weight as men do in our society (if not more), the story clearly sympathizes with Tom, who represents the man of the 21st century struggling to find a perfect partner.

So what makes this film worth watching? I think it's the originality of the screenplay that draws us into Tom's world and makes us sympathize with him. Several well-developed visual tools are also used to evoke our interest in the story. The first involves adding a musical sequence depicting Tom's happiness for being with Summer when they spend their first night together. While the musical sequence ranks nowhere near that of Grease or Moulin Rouge! (however it’s directed by first-time feature director Marc Web, whose background is in music video), the sequence appears none-the-less pleasing to watch because it adds another layer to the character's mood.

Right around the second pinch of the story, when Summer invites Tom over to her house party, the script draws two quite different scenarios (depicted in a split-screen style), where one scenario (on left, I believe) shows what Tom wants to happen, while the other (on right) displays what actually happens. The two scenarios finally converge once we reach the second plot point of the story, which I do not want to give away for anyone who hasn't watched the film yet.

My favorite character in the movie is McKenzie (Geoffrey Arand), who sees himself as an [action] hero, or a sidekick to Tom, and acts like one. He almost reminds me of a kid stuck in an adult's body, who used to work in a comic book store when he was in high school, but never grew out of that age.

First-time feature screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber do an excellent job with dialogue and character development. Their fresh storytelling techniques make me anxious to see their upcoming projects -- and at this point, if they continue to give their characters depth and layers, and make more use of the implied space, they will be on their way to writing material on par with Charlie Kaufman.

(Released by Fox Searchlight Pictures and raged “PG-13” for sexual material and language.)