Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind DVD > Reviews > Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Author's product rating:   

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

Advantages:	See review
Disadvantages:	None

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

'Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling Clementine...'

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, directed by Michel Gondry, written by Charlie Kaufman, is about Joel and Clementine, a couple who use some computer technology mixed with experimental psychology, to try to erase each other from their memories, but then they realize what they had together, they try and fight to keep it, but the procedure they have set in motion is not easily stopped.

The story is based around the fact that, Clementine, Joel's long term girlfriend, decided that after trying for a long time to make their relationship work, it would be less heartache for her to erase the memories of Joel and get on with her life. This she does, and when Joel, a shy retiring type, discovers what she has done, decides it is pointless to continue loving her, when she doesn't even know him any more, and decides rashly, to undergo the procedure too.

The twist comes, when he recalls all the nice parts of their relationship while under the sleep part of the treatment, and wants to stop. He wants to keep his memories, but can't communicate with the pot smoking, techie computer operator (played very well by Elijah Wood, of Frodo fame, with some funny moments. If you thought he would be a nice little Hobbit forever, forget it.) So Joel hits on a plan to hide some of his memories elsewhere in his brain, in places the operator won't easily find them. So begins a cat and mouse game, of Joel stashing the memories away for safekeeping, and the operator searching for them to eradicate them.

The movie starts at the end, or rather with the end scene first. We are shown little bits of Joel's mind, which is where most of the movie takes place, as he recalls parts of their relationship. At first it makes little sense, and it is only near the end of the movie that the first scene fits together like a puzzle, and just like a puzzle, the whole picture isn't revealed until those last pieces are put in their places.

I am not going to reveal the outcome of this bizarre, mess with the mind movie, it is enough to say, you are taken on a typical Kaufman ride, and you should buckle up, keep your hands inside and just enjoy it.

This is a beautiful movie, I loved it. Slightly bizarre, with Jim Carrey, proving once again, that he can do serious acting. I don't care what anyone else says, Carrey exudes talent, and I was very impressed with his performance. He still managed to give us some funny moments when needed, but in a far more subtle way than we are used to. While Carrey tones down and does some serious acting in this movie, it appears that director, Gondry, didn't want to entirely give up on the whackeyness, and gives Kate Winslet a Carrey type, wild role to play, which all works out very well, and is even a little injection of fun. Clementine is the exact opposite of her guy, Joel. While he is shy and introverted, she is wild, blue haired, no, pink haired, no, green haired, oh hell, a multi colour haired extrovert who is prone to talking to strangers.

There are some very funny moments in this movie, along with some very poignant, lump in the throat moments too. Kaufman has written this story from back to front, and it works very well. As more is revealed, we find ourselves going, 'ahh!' time and time again. This is the third Charlie Kaufman rendition I have seen, Being John Malkovich, which I hated with a vengeance, was loved by most people, but I loved Adaptation, and I feel Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is even better than that. The philosophical connotations in the script are genuine questions. Are we all on an inevitable course, with no control over our actions? What are we without our memories, even the not so nice ones? Is it better we don't know some things?

Jon Brion is responsible for the ambient music score. Incidentally, the title of the film is a quote from an 18th century poem written by Alexander Pope, which goes:

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd