Tom’s "subtitles" for his own life often ignore Summer’s clear boundaries. For example, he ignores her early statement: "I'm not really looking for anything serious" .
The tragedy of the film is not that Summer did not love Tom, but that Tom spent 500 days reading the wrong subtitles in their relationship. He ignored her explicit statements that she did not want a boyfriend, choosing instead to superimpose his own romantic narrative over her reality. 500 days of summer subtitles top