Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Directed by:
Michel GondryScreenplay:
Charlie KaufmanCinematography:
Ellen KurasComposer:
Jon BrionCast:
Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Ryan Whitney, Debbon Ayer, Thomas Jay Ryan, Jane Adams, Paulie Litt (more)VOD (5)
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Jim Carrey stars as Joel, a shy oddball who is stunned to discover that his longterm girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet), with whom he has recently split up, has undergone an experimental psychiatric treatment to have her memories of their tumultuous relationship erased. Still in love with her, and frustrated at the thought that she has no memory of their times together, he elects to undergo the procedure himself, and contacts the company who have pioneered it. The team, led by Dr Howard Mierzwaik (Tom Wilkinson), hook Joel up their computer and begin the process. The film, the majority of which takes place inside Joel's mind, then follows each of his memories of Clementine back in time as the most recent ones are systematically erased. But Joel's subconscious struggles to hold on to the memories as they slip away, and one of the nurses, Mary (Kirsten Dunst), who has undergone the treatment herself, sees his distress and eventually decides to send Joel and Clementine their files so that they know what they have lost. (Momentum Pictures)
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Reviews (10)
In a word, a smart film, bolstered by a script from arguably the best and most creative contemporary Hollywood screenwriter, Andy Kaufman, and featuring clever, imaginative direction and an excellent cast. This film is reminiscent of the best Czechoslovak parodies and fantastic films of the 1970s. Playful, intelligent filmmaking. Overall impression: 85%.
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To be honest, I only heard about this Jim Carrey film a few years ago; it had somehow been off my radar all these years. It is definitely an unconventional viewing experience in every sense. I liked how they grafted sci-fi onto the romantic genre; you don't see that every day. The central idea of a letter containing information that someone has just erased you from their memory is initially quite crazy, but as time goes on, I started to enjoy the whole concept more and more. Of course, the cast contributes to this, with Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet... could the creators wish for anyone better for the lead roles? I also appreciated the various little details (like Clementine's hair color changing according to her mood). I don't feel ready to give it a higher rating yet, but I wouldn't rule out leaning towards that after a second viewing in the future (a lot of people had that experience). For me, it's 8/10.
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Whether I want to or not, I need to nag and criticize. The aspects of the film overshadow a certain banality and imperfection of the content... Beneath the shell of perfect visuals (the edit and camera are excellent!) and narrative magic, there is love story that is only briefly sketched psychologically and is not exceptional in any way, and it lacks depth and the hard-to-name magic that "made" Coppola's gem Lost in Translation. Carrey excels and with absolute sovereignty connects the civilian inner and exhibitionist mannerisms of his acting, and Winslet is also deeply immersed in the eccentric Clementine, but they are unable to hide the flatness of the characters and their considerable proclamation and two-dimensionality. The exclusivity of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is aided by the superficial memory-erasing plot that allowed Gondry to play out the audio-visual drama of an escape from the inevitable oblivion that takes place almost entirely in the main character's head. The drama of the end of a relationship between two people, painful disillusionment and an irreversible return to the beginning, which overshadows all the evil that happened after it. It's not boring at all and it warms my soul, but after the film ended I had nothing left but a handful of positive impressions and a very overdone, mundane love story in an exclusive package. Nevertheless, I can only praise the ease with which Gondry et al. work with emotional shades... But I was still expecting more.
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That was quite a ride... A memory here and there, with the occasional real thing thrown in, and then it would seem impossible to understand. And look! I understood the incomprehensible and misunderstood the comprehensible - a crazy combination, I know, like the speed of Clementine's hair color change. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an amazing journey into the deepest recesses of a lover's soul, where everything seems so real, but let's not be fooled. The great Jim Carrey and the absolutely amazing Kate Winslet may make a completely mismatched pair (which may be just me), but the ways of love are devious. This is definitely one of the most intricate films of the 21st century, and it gave me everything on offer - sweet romance, bitter drama and unadulterated sci-fi ... ...and actually feel great about something so special.
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Originally, I wanted to write a longwinded analysis of my love for this playful jewel of a movie. But after watching it a few times over, I said to myself “to the hell with it". So, in brief: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind simply IS the best movie to be made (not only) over the past years. Want to know why? If that’s the case, you’ll have to watch the fatal relationship of Joel and Clementine (...no jokes about her name!) for yourselves. It’s an experience that’s just indescribable in words.
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