When you hear the basic storyline of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," it sounds like another one of those "wacky" romantic comedies that they love to put out every month. However, when you realize that this is written by Charlie Kaufman (who also wrote "Adaptation" and "Being John Malkovich"), then you know that this will be a very different movie. This is such an enjoyable, hilarious and a brutally honest film that has immediately become a favorite of mine.Jim Carrey plays "Joel;" a quiet and shy person who keeps to himself most of the time. He's bummed out when he discovers that his girlfriend had a new procedure done in where she has erased him from her memory. Not knowing what else to do, Joel decides that he must get the same thing done to him and goes to the clinic to have her erased from his memory, hoping that the pain and sadness will go away. When he's undergoing the procedure, unconscious and reliving the memories as they are being erased, Joel begins to realize that there were some very happy moments he had with her and he doesn't want to lose them after all.
It's really hard to categorize a movie like this. While it is indeed a comedy on some levels, it has a lot of dramatic elements to it, as well. Because of this, people will either fall in love with it or despise every minute of it. What really struck home with me is how honest and creative it really is. You'll find a lot more honesty and truth in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" than in most of the "cute" comedies that are out there today. It is extremely easy to relate to the characters, and that is what makes it all the more realistic for us. Jim Carrey is absolutely fantastic in this, as he is very controlled and doesn't try to steal the show. This is when you really get to see his acting skills shine. Kate Winslet takes the challenge of playing opposite of Carrey head-on and succeeds every single time. We cannot forget about Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst and Tom Wilkinson, who also make the movie that much more entertaining.
What I really admire about the movie is the theme of it, and that is that just because a relationship doesn't work out in the end, it doesn't mean that it was time wasted. Sure, there are certain memories we wish would go away somehow, but how would that change us as a person if we could do such a thing? We learn from our experiences; from the good and the bad. That's how we mature as human-beings, and Kaufman's clever writing really establishes that perfectly. The DVD has some cool extras, such as behind-the-scenes documentaries, audio commentary from the writer and the director, deleted scenes and more.
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" remains the best film to come out of 2004 for me. It's strange, yet clever; funny yet sad, and imaginative, yet honest. If you're looking for a risk-taking film that is like a breath of fresh air, then I highly recommend this excellent picture. This can possibly be the best movie of Jim Carrey's career. Take a chance and find out why so many people are raving about it in the first place. -Michael Crane
The film, which operates on the premise that people can delete bad relationships from their memories, travels essentially backward down its story's timeline. It examines several key themes regarding compatibility, fate and how our memories can make up who we are.
Jim Carrey, who plays his role of Joel straight rather than wacky, delivers his best and most human performance since THE TRUMAN SHOW. But the movie, thankfully, belongs to Kate Winslet. As Clementine, the girlfriend who Joel wants to either love or forget, Winslet is wacky, colorful and hilarious the sort of girl you want to either love or strangle.
While their central story plays out mostly within Joel's brain, several equally interesting subplots emerge involving the memory-erasing workers played by Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Tom Wilkinson.
The thing I like best about Charlie Kaufman scripts is that I don't always know where they're going but, in the end, they cover all their bases, address all the philosophical questions inherent in their twisted plots and always leave me entertained. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND is a terrific movie.
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Charlie Kaufman is known for creating films that bend the mind -"Being John Malkovich," "Adaptation," "Human Nature." But he takes a slightly different turn in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," a sort of romantic dark comedy that raises questions about memory and identity. It may not be the best of Kaufman's work, but it's in some ways the most endearing.Uptight Joel (Jim Carrey) is shocked to learn that his likably flaky ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has taken unusual measures, post-breakup. She's having her memories of him erased from her brain at Lacuna Inc. When he learns WHY she broke up with him (she thought he was boring), he gets mad and decides to have the same thing done to himself.
So a group of offbeat techies and doctors (Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Kirsten Dunst) begin to erase the memories of Clementine from Joel's brain (Wood's character also tries to use Joel's memories to seduce Clementine). Problem is, his brain doesn't want to let them go. It pokes Clementine into parts of his memory where she doesn't belong, so he won't have to let go. And viewing the memories makes him fall in love all over again...
"Dark romantic comedy" is the closest thing that "Eternal Sunshine" has to a description. Like Kaufman's other films, it's funny in a subtle way, and more obviously sweet and romantic. Not to mention thought-provoking. If you could erase unpleasant memories, would you do it, if it changed the person you were? If we get rid of the pain, do we also get rid of the joy?
Michel Gondry is best known for his work on Bjork, Radiohead and White Stripes music videos -deliciously strange ones. Somehow, he fits perfectly into directing "Eternal Sunshine." A trip through a person's brain is a hard thing to manage, but he does it -surreal little images like a teeny tiny Winslet and Carrey bathing in a kitchen sink, or lying on the ice. It's weird, and it works. At the same time, he can capture more mundane moments well.
Jim Carrey gives what may be his best "serious" role ever, as the conflicted, lovelorn Joel. Kate Winslet's Clementine breaks the mold of "romantic comedy heroine" with her free-spirited wackiness. Together, they make a flawed couple that you really want to see together. And Elijah Wood takes what could have been an empty role and turns Patrick into a rather pitiful, lonely figure, rather than a 2-D creep.
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is not the best from Charlie Kaufman's fertile brain, but this melancholy dark comedy is well worth checking out. A wonderful, prismatic film. I've never submitted a review before, cause I never had a reason to. I was lucky that I got a chance to see the sneak preview. I had no idea what it was about before seeing it. I think sometimes it's better that way. Nothing was given away before it was meant to, and you have no false expectations before seeing the movie.
It is, by far, one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. And there were some good ones in the past few years. It makes you really appreciate life, all the good and all the bad, and it will move you if you've ever been in a relationship. But in general anyone should and could appreciate this movie. It has some neat special effects that isn't over the top. Very appropriate and subtle that simply compliments the movie. It's a thinking movie, in that afterwards it gives you a different perspective on your current, past, and maybe future relationship (if you still remember by that time). And I think it's for the better.
I don't want to give anything away, and ruin your experience with the movie. Go with an open mind. You'll enjoy it, I promise.
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If you've seen the trailer, you know the plot: Jim Carrey's Lowell discovers that his ex-girlfriend (Kate Winslet's Clementine) has had all memories of him erased by a company called Lacuna, Inc. So Lowell decides to get all of his memories of her erased, too. Then, during the procedure, he changes his mind and tries to save her from within literally vanishing memories.This is not the whole plot, but it is enough to get by on--and saying anymore would give away too much: the movie is kingly in its execution of plot twists.
Other characters worth noting are the doctor who erases Lowell's memories, and his girlfriend Mary; and Patrick (Elijah Wood), who helps the doctor and gets himself rather thickly embroiled in another part of the plot as well; and the head of Lacuna Inc, who is definitely not the guy he appears to be.
Obviously, this film has an unusual premise. In fact, the entire film is unusual--and deliciously wonderful. Most of it takes place within Lowell's head, within warped memories in which fences and people vanish and people who don't belong appear; and oftentimes the settings change as swiftly and with as little fuss as scenery often does in our dreams. Yet it never becomes confusing and certainly never ridiculous: the movie sucks you in and the unreality of much of it seems oddly realistic, probably because it is the sort of unreality that we find in our heads and that we endure nearly every night when we dream. You don't even notice that the movie is particularly surreal: it feels far more realistic than your average romantic comedy or action movie, certainly!
Much of this film is not surreal in any way. We get many glimpses of Lowell's memories--obviously--and they are amazingly engaging, running the gamut of emotional extremes and not-so-extremes in Lowell and Clementine's relationship.
All of them actors and actresses do a marvelous job. Jim Carrey is especially wonderful; Elijah Wood, though with a fairly minor part, has one of the best entrances I have ever seen in a film. Kate Winslet's Clementine catches you off-balance when you realize how much you believe in her, with all her strangeness.
This is one of the most creative movies I have seen in a while. I worry about using words like "creative" and "surreal" in this review: they are accurate, but they arouse the wrong connotations. One hardly has to be a fan of abstract art to enjoy this film! Indeed, it should appeal to a wide range of audience types--it could be anything from a romantic comedy to an "arty" film to whatever you call poignant, realistic movies. It lets you do detective work, handing you clues subtly and without giving the best trick away until the end--but if you don't enjoy putting two and two together at the cinema, you aren't required to either.
This film is practically impossible to describe. If you find the trailer (go to the Focus Features website), that will give you a fairly good taste of it. But really good films should not be overly described, and I would hate to give away any of Eternal Sunshine's tricks. So forget descriptions: just go see it. In a time when a lot of movies start to look the same, Eternal Sunshine is unique and uniquely wonderful.
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