The Best Director - Chapter 428

Chapter 428: Chapter 428 Exciting

“I’ve never talked about these things with anyone before.”

Summer had fallen for Tom, she finally brought him to her place, Tom entered her world, a world rarely accessed by others, Summer wanted him to come in, him, and not anyone else. She began to tell Tom stories not meant for just anyone, stories for those who qualify to hear them. Tom was curious if anyone else had been here before, and Summer’s words made him realize something. He said, “I guess I’m not just ‘anyone’.”

Then what was he? Tom himself wasn’t sure, and could only explain to his two best friends, “We’re adults, we know our feelings, we don’t need to stick labels like ‘boyfriend,’ ‘girlfriend,’ it’s all too childish.” He didn’t think they were experts in love, at a loss, he sought advice from his go-to strategist little Rachel, “Clearly, you’re just afraid the answer isn’t what you want, it would shatter all the illusions you’ve had for months.” He decided to ask for clarity.

“What are we doing exactly?” On the big screen, Tom and Summer were driving to the movie theater, faced with his sudden question, Summer kept smiling, “I don’t know… who cares? I’m happy, aren’t you happy?” Tom immediately replied with a laugh, “Yeah, I am.”

“Right!” Summer laughed heartily, she blinked a few times, leaned towards Tom’s shoulder with a chuckle, nudged his head, and played with his ear, while Tom laughed brightly. He didn’t continue the topic, but Summer seemed a bit disappointed.

Tom was such an idiot! Inside 3351 North American Cinemas, who knew how many similar silent curses arose, listening to the somewhat melancholy soundtrack, watching the sedan driving into the dark tunnel, many in the audience felt a sense of helpless sorrow. Rachel could also see Summer’s panic and nervousness, the insincere things she said, her attempts to draw attention again, but Tom thought that was the end of it, just as at the restaurant when they broke up, Summer hoped he would confess his love, yet he was utterly clueless.

“If only things were made clear, everything would have turned out fine.” Rachel had already immersed herself in the screen’s story, and couldn’t help feeling sorry for Tom and Summer; why couldn’t people who loved each other end up together?

Sometimes Tom just needed more courage; while Summer had not fully understood her own heart, and after repeated disappointments, her feelings for Tom cooled down.

“Really? Was that for me!? Then don’t do that next time, I don’t need your help!” After Tom got into a violent altercation at the bar, when they returned to Summer’s place, they had a fight. Tom said he fought because she was being harassed, but Summer felt that the silent him only reacted because the harasser mocked him, saying “I can’t believe he’s your boyfriend.”

The big screen split into two separate images; on both sides, Tom and Summer who had had a falling out lay in their respective beds, silently staring at their bedside phones, waiting for the other to call. Tom picked up the receiver a few times, then put it back down, burying his head into the pillow.

“Don’t call, don’t call…” Jessica was nervously whispering to herself; “Go for it! Call!” Rachel was also whispering nervously, along with countless other viewers; “This asshole.” Helen took a deep breath, trying to calm her indescribable feelings, she was so foolish to pick up the phone, so foolish to wait…

In the torrential rain at midnight, the doorbell suddenly buzzed. Tom got up from his bed expressionlessly, got dressed, and went to open the door—it was Summer! She had come to apologize of her own volition.

“I’m sorry.” Summer looked frail and a bit worried he was angry, but Tom, on the other hand, had an air of condescension, when in fact, neither of them wanted to lose the other. Tom sighed in agitation, “Fine, we don’t have to label things, it’s good, I get it, but you know I just need some stability, how would I know you won’t wake up one morning and suddenly feel… different.” Summer spoke gently, a rarity, “I can’t give you that guarantee; no one can.” She gently touched his bruised forehead, “Does it hurt? I’m sorry. I like you…”

The contradiction seemed to have been resolved, and laughter erupted from the audience again, especially watching Tom and Summer do foolish things together.

But inevitably, the story entered the main stage of heartbreak after the breakup. Losing Summer, Tom was a mess in every aspect of his life and work, even his once effortlessly written greeting cards had lost their charm. When he was deeply in love with Summer, she was his muse, just one look from her sparked the most marvelous and joyful lyrics. Now, instead of writing blessings, his cards conveyed sorrow.

“I hate Summer, I hate her rudely cut short hair, I hate her duck-like voice, I hate her uneven knees… I hate this song!!”

In a once romantic cable car, Tom, wearing headphones, screamed insanely, his eyes blazing with murderous fury. Everyone on the car was terrified, and as they arrived at the stop, the black driver said sternly, “Son, you have to get off now.”

“Oh my god!” Apart from the Yangs who were inexplicably pleased, audiences across North America couldn’t laugh, truly unbearable to watch a breakup movie before Christmas! Would it turn out alright in the end? Will it have a Hollywood-style ending? Kelly silently shouted, “It must!”

Rekindled hope came swiftly! After many months, Tom had been trying hard to forget Summer. However, because of attending a colleague’s wedding in Los Angeles, he and Summer, who had resigned long ago, happened to meet on the train. They laughed, danced, and reminisced about the past, as she seemed to return to his life, and everything appeared unchanged. Summer then invited him to a party, and Tom was filled with anticipation, as were the audience.

With the screen split in half, the left showed what Tom hoped for, and the right depicted reality. He hoped that Summer would kiss him when he arrived, complimenting his handsome attire – in reality, she only gave him a small hug; he hoped that his gift of a book on architecture would delight and enchant Summer – in reality, her thanks were politely uttered; he hoped that on the rooftop dining table, he would be in engrossing conversation with Summer, but in reality…

“Tom, what do you do?” Summer’s blonde female friend asked with interest. Tom replied, “I write greeting card sayings.” Summer, holding a wine glass to the side, explained, “If he wanted to, Tom could be a great architect.” This surprised Summer’s friend: “That’s strange, I mean, why would you give up being an architect?” Tom explained, “My thinking is… instead of creating something temporary, like buildings; why not create something eternal, like greeting cards, don’t you think? Haha!”

Tom laughed foolishly by himself, receiving no laughter in response, not even from Summer, who just smiled.

“Hey! Who would think writing greeting cards is better?” Clair looked around at the audience, engrossed in thought, probably only a few would say “YES”, showing Tom’s immaturity. He couldn’t provide a woman with a sense of security, but the main issue was, despite his deep fascination with architecture, he didn’t dare follow his true inner desires, choosing instead to pass his time writing greeting cards, much like his previous relationship with Summer.

The melancholic melody of the background music started to rise. Tom expected intimate relations with Summer, an official rekindling of their romance; in reality, he was left cold in the corner, and then suddenly saw Summer showing off a shiny engagement ring to her friends… shattered fantasy!

“Oh!” Gasps of surprise rose in the cinema, with the last bit of hope dissolving into nothingness. Evelyn and Linda gasped… Oh my god! They were completely doomed!

On the big screen, Tom was stunned. He rushed away from the rooftop blindly, dashed down the steps, left the apartment building, and stood defeated in the desolate street. Summer was getting married?… the entire colorful world, alongside his heartbreak and loneliness, slowly faded into a black and white pencil drawing, all gray and blurred, with the sketchy shadows and lines forming a lifeless bluebird, symbolizing the shattered dream and the death of innocence.

“That’s amazing,” the critics exclaimed in admiration. The film’s work in the artistic and fine arts domain was done exquisitely, not only highlighting the texture but also fully expressing Tom’s despair. The black and white hand-drawn scene skilfully enhanced the storytelling and performances, presenting a stark contrast to the previous surreal musical sequence.

But it wasn’t just the desaturation treatment at the end; the earlier split-screen subtly contrasted Tom’s emotional highs and lows, painting his fall, repression, sourness, and pain so intensely that it felt almost cruel. When the anticipated images shrank until they disappeared, it was hard not to feel Tom’s heart shattering at that moment.

From “Juno’s” cartoon drawings, “District 9’s” mockumentary interview shots, to “The Hangover’s” surreal special effects, “MIT-21-TEAM’s” sharp editing, “The Devil Wears Prada’s” split screens… If “Firefly” abandoned those flashy camera techniques, stunning the audience with unimaginable visual power, Wang Yang had another field day with “500 Days of Summer,” where all previous techniques came rushing in, demonstrating mastery and effortlessness.

“What a bunch of liars we all are! Think about it! Why do people buy these greeting cards? Not because they want to say these things, but because they can’t or are afraid to say what they really want to say. We provide a service to let them off the hook, you know?! This is bullshit!”

Tom had an outburst! During a company meeting, he suddenly lambasted his boss, colleagues, and the greeting cards themselves with scathing satire. Listening to him, the audience also fell silent—was he right? Sometimes, he certainly was.

“It’s these cards, movies, pop songs…” Tom gasped for breath, his voice trembling as he looked at his colleagues with reddened eyes, “They should be responsible for all the lies, the heartache, the fantasies, and everything they conjure up… We should be responsible, I should be responsible! I think we’re doing something wrong. People should express their feelings themselves, their true feelings, not let strangers do it for them, like ‘love’…” He realized he had never actually said to Summer, “I love you.”

As the 360-degree panoramic shot revolved around the conference table, Vince, Mickey, and others looked shocked or expressionless. Tom, suppressing his emotions, said much more calmly, “That would have no value. I’m sorry, I apologize, I resign!” He pointed at the piles of greeting cards on the table: “There’s already enough bullshit in the world without me having to add to it.” With that, he turned and left.

The quirky soundtrack started playing as Tom, wearing a bathrobe and pajamas, walked the streets in broad daylight. Disheveled and in a state of decay, he encountered a couple and mocked, “Off to get a room, right?” Naturally, he didn’t receive any kind words. “Ha-ha,” he chuckled, shaking his head as he continued on, suddenly singing “Here-Comes-Your-Man” unabashedly: “Outside-there’s-a-boxcar-waiting! Outside-the-family-stew!…” All the passersby stared at this madman.

As the song’s high and loud notes turned plaintive, the scene switched to Tom punching a black punching bag in his apartment, soaked in sweat and gasping for air. Whether he was too weak to punch or lost in thought, he paused, and the punching bag swung back and hit him, “Ah—!” He roared uncontrollably, pushing the bag several times with all his strength, almost losing his balance. Then he suddenly rushed to the kitchen, grabbed a kitchen knife, and returned to stab the punching bag repeatedly, as if Sid stabbing Nancy, destroying her body, her heart…

“Here-comes-your-man, Here-comes-your-man…”

Who is Sid? Who is Nancy? As sand and sawdust spilled everywhere from the punching bag, Tom stopped, looking blankly at the mess. He slowly sat down on the sandy floor, tearfully staring at the battered punching bag, weeping silently.

The phantasmagorical shadow of Summer moved around the room, cleaning, reading, dancing, and other activities, multiplying until the room was full and then disappearing one by one. Tom, glancing around, suddenly started to laugh again, crying and laughing, flushed and reddened, as if mocking himself or something else.

“It’s too sentimental.” As they watched Tom’s frenzied actions, the audience felt his pain. The atmosphere in the cinema grew heavy and oppressive. At some point, Evelyn covered her aching nose, sobbing quietly, “Oh God, oh God, my heart aches so much…” Even Kelly, who had been on the lookout for her friend all night, was teary-eyed. It was a heart-wrenching experience! Audience members who had recently suffered through painful breakups shed tears, and soft sobs and sighs rose across North American Cinemas. Why, why…

“Back then, I did a lot of crazy things. It was quite fun.” As Jessica remembered what Wang Yang had said, she clicked her tongue, feeling a surge within her underdeveloped tear glands… Seriously, what else had he done? “Such a pity.” Rachel, completely immersed in the story, had tears brimming in her eyes; “Yang, have you ever felt this sad… Helen, the past is the past.” Helen, watching these scenes unfold, couldn’t help but lean back in her chair and tilt her head back. There was not a hint of pleasure in her heart, but rather an indescribable taste. She knew everyone should cherish their current happiness even more.

Would I? Joshua wondered if his own heartbreaks, which had occurred several times, had ever been this severe. But if he lost Ali, glancing at the goddess beside him, he would… go crazy. What would be the purpose of life then, or the meaning in working hard? The movie was bound to provide an answer, but he would still… go crazy.

“How could she make Yang so heartbroken, how could she! No one could… I can’t bear it!” Jessica was beyond furious when she thought about how Yang had gone crazy for Helen in the past, her wrath uncontrollable! With nowhere to vent, she truly understood Tom’s urge to punch a sandbag at this moment, squeezing his hand all the more tightly.

Wang Yang’s hand hurt so much he bared his teeth, did she think he was Transformers? Suddenly, he heard Jessica muttering to herself: “I’m going to San Francisco to beat her up.” Wang Yang was surprised, “You’re joking, right?” Jessica turned her head with fire in her eyes: “What do you think?” Wang Yang, not daring to say more, nodded repeatedly: “I think it’s a joke.” Jessica suddenly looked towards the screen: “I don’t think it is.”…

The acting was incredible! However, this particular scene of “Tom” had the most NGs in the entire film. “Can’t you break down a little more?” Wang Yang’s voice from the set echoed in her ears. Nancy smiled. He was always dissatisfied with Gordon Levitt’s intensity, but clearly, it was good now.

“Brilliant, classic.” The critics agreed with this opinion. The magical Yang had employed his unique personal style. The scene used props ingeniously, with the sandbag representing Summer and ideals, letting Tom’s destructive sorrow and attitude towards life explode at this moment. Joseph Gordon Levitt’s acting had the chance to burst forth as well. The surreal multiple Summers continued to accentuate Tom’s deep feelings for her, this climactic monologue truly displayed the “charm of heartbreak” in its entirety.

Looking at it now, it’s hardly surprising that it received three Golden Globe nominations. It should have received even more.

“Tom, I know you think she’s your soulmate, but I don’t.” Clair addressed the screen, “You only remember the good stuff. Next time, when you reminisce about the past, I really think you ought to think twice.”

The story continued on the big screen. Prompted by little Rachel’s reminder, Tom began to reevaluate his relationship, as a sequence of flashbacks linked together the good times, the misunderstandings, the mistakes, and the disagreements—for instance, whether to see the re-release of “The Graduate”? Tom was indifferent, but Summer really wanted to see it.

“Hahaha!” The scene cuts to the ending of “The Graduate” on the screen, with Benjamin running away with his bride Elaine on the bus, successfully crashing the wedding! Their smiles were radiant, then gradually faded into expressionless faces as the bus drove towards an unknown future. Sitting in the audience, Summer was tear-stricken, while Tom was unmoved. As they left the theater, Tom, both concerned and puzzled, asked, “Are you okay? Summer, it’s just a movie.” Summer, wiping away tears, shook her head: “I’m fine… I’m just, just an idiot.”

“It’s more than just a movie.” In front of the big screen, Linda was thrilled to hear her boyfriend Seth suddenly say this: “I’m glad you think so.” Seth wiped his moist eyes: “Yes, I know.”

With the audience’s mix of melancholy and uplifting feelings, Tom gradually dismantled the goddess Summer in his heart. He erased everything written on the big blackboard at home—past greeting card messages and the like—and drew a blueprint instead. He seemed to perk up, fixing up his appearance, brushing up on his architecture books, and tirelessly seeking architecture jobs, rejected by company after company, and heading to the next one… Meanwhile, Summer was buying wedding rings and happily preparing her wedding.

Could the story still change? With the appearance of “The Graduate,” the audience once again began to harbor a glimmer of hope or perhaps wishful thinking; would Tom possibly run into the church like Benjamin and crash Summer’s wedding? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian () to vote for it, and your support is my greatest motivation.)