Music is the soul of this movie.

For the past 12 years, director Marc Webb has specialized in productions that grace the likes of MTV, VH1 and YouTube. He's worked with Regina Spektor, AFI, Nelly, My Chemical Romance, Green Day, Miley Cyrus and countless others. Now, he's stepping into film; however, his former experience is moving into the penthouse with him, as opposed to staying in a nearby suite. He states that, "(500) Days of Summer is a movie about love, sure, but it's also a movie about music. These songs build bridges between Tom and Summer [Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel] and they tear them down. Music is the soul of this movie."

Said soul is full of reputable pop-rock that spans over four decades. Very strategic licensing must have gone into acquiring such pricey rights. "I worked closely with our music supervisor Andrea Von Foerster, the music exec at Searchlight, Amy Driscoll, and most importantly writer Scott Neustadter whose Smiths-love is unparalleled," said Webb.

Understandably, one of the movie's defining scenes is centered around the classic Smiths' song "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out." It's also part of the movie trailer. Other songs that may take part in some particularly moving segments include "There Goes the Fear" by Doves, "Quelqu'un M'a Dit" by Carla Bruni and "Bookends" by Simon & Garfunkel.

The musical selections in this soundtrack are as important as leading cast members. They complete the portrayal of jaded and commitment-phobic versus ideal-over-reality love. At the same time, a good chunk of America's under-30 crowd has yet another memorable soundtrack that hits close to home...on a romantic level. A- | Lauren Beckerle

RIYL: Garden State soundtrack, The Smiths, Regina Spektor

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