Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind DVD > Reviews > A blotted copybook

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Indifferent to it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Good
How does it compare to similar films?	Satisfactory

Advantages:	A strong cast, good performances
Disadvantages:	Self - consciously clever, too much flash and not enough heart and it all seems a bit too Philip K Dick

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Joel Barish is a dull and lonely individual whose existence is brightened up considerably when he meets and falls in love with the free-spirited Clementine. Unfortunately they soon fall out of love and Clementine undergoes a procedure to surgically remove Joel from her memory. So Joel does the same, only do discover part way through the process that he still loves her and doesn’t want to forget her. So the race is on to bury her so deep in his mind that the erasers can’t find her…

Many people think that screenwriter Charlie Kaufman is a genius after the critical and financial successes of “Being John Malkovich” and “Adaptation”. I am not of the same opinion. I find his work too self-consciously clever (the title refers to a quote by Alexander Pope) and that he relies too heavily on film school gimmickry, editing and broken narratives. This film is no different.

Director Michel Gondry’s pop promo-directing credentials shine through. No gimmick is left unused. The film follows Jean-Luc Godard’s adage of “A film should have a beginning, a middle and an end; but not necessarily in that order.” This is a trick that has been used endlessly by Quentin Tarantino and every other director who has seen one of his films. It fits the concept of the film and Clementine and Joel’s relationship well though, starting at the end and finishing at the end of the beginning. (Believe me it’ll make sense when you’ve seen the film). Gondry also relies heavily on grainy film stock and shaky hand-held camerawork when Joel and Clementine are being pursued through Joel’s mind for that cinema verité feel. Not to mention the copious use of effects to show the world around the pair drifting, melting, fading and literally disintegrating as Joel gradually loses his memories. It’s certainly effective but at the same time it feels as though Gondry is shoehorning in the effects just for the sake of it. The editing is choppy and surprisingly logical considering the fractured narrative and it imposes a modicum of order to the proceedings.

Joel Barish is a revelatory role for Jim Carrey, a man who normally makes his living from gurning and cheap theatrics. Here he puts in an incredibly restrained performance as the introverted, neurotic and unkempt hero of the piece. And it is a very good performance that should stand him in good stead should he ever want to do serious acting full-time.

Kate Winslet continues to cast off the corsets of her costume drama past as the unpredictable Clementine. Her American accent never slips and she is convincing as the frustratingly whimsical woman whose scattergun approach to life makes her entertaining but ultimately unsuited to being in a relationship. Winslet plays her like a human grenade with the pin removed; you never know when she’s going to go off.

The supporting cast are all accomplished actors with Elijah Wood getting as far away from Frodo as possible as the creepy, identity-thieving Patrick, who uses Joel’s memories to insinuate himself into Clementine’s life. Mark Ruffalo looks disturbingly like Johnny Knoxville as the other erasure technician, Stan. A good-hearted stoner nerd who we feel for as he watches his girlfriend being stolen from under his nose. Tom Wilkinson continues his impressive run of character parts in Hollywood movies as Howard Mierzwiak, the inventor of the memory wiping technique. He seems very patrician but reveals a more sinister side as the film progresses. Kirsten Dunst impresses as Mary, the doctor’s receptionist whose infatuation with her employer is more deeply rooted than she thought.

I think my main problem with this film is that it has been marketed as a comedy, yet I found very little to laugh at. In fact, I don’t think I laughed once, although I may have smirked a couple of times. I spent more time feeling bewildered than entertained and that isn’t what I wanted from the film. I appreciated the acting and the concept, but as a whole, the film failed to grab me. Maybe Charlie Kaufman’s stuff is just over my head.

This is a film you should see if you enjoyed any of Charlie Kaufman’s other films or if you liked Jim Carrey in any of his previous serious outings. Otherwise I’d wait for this to come out on video so that you can at least wander off for a cup of tea if you find it less than gripping.