Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind DVD > Reviews > This Sunshine Will Dazzle You...

Author's product rating:   

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

Advantages:	High standard of acting all round making it a very moving film .
Disadvantages:	Takes effort to understand at first .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind sees Charlie Kaufman – the Academy Award nominated screenwriter of such films as Being John Malkovich and Adaptation - return with this romantic comedy in what is quite likely his most confusing script to date. However, this is anything but your average rom-com.

Of course, it has some of the obvious, unavoidable, Richard Curtis-esque features, such as the mixture of love and heartbreak supplied by a troubled relationship as well as a man’s quest to regain his once perfect love. But that is where the predictability ends.

Eternal Sunshine boasts an all-star ensemble cast that tells the story of Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) who has his memories of ex-girlfriend Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) erased after discovering she has had had him wiped from her life. However, during the process Joel recognises the truth behind the sentiment ‘It’s better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all’. He realises how desperately he wants to hold onto these memories and struggles to stop the routine whilst lying unconscious on a bed. Understand all that? You won’t, and you’re not supposed to either. Not the first time round anyway.

In a film that quickly and continuously slides from the hopeless to the truly romantic, the quality of the acting remains consistently high throughout. This is especially evident in Kate Winslet, who seems to have exchanged her typical role with Jim Carrey and vice versa.

Winslet puts her all into Clementine, perfecting the American accent and bringing to life the impulsive character. With what is some of her best acting to date this part has earned her the very deserving fourth Oscar nomination of her career. Carrey is also particularly impressive in his stark change from normal, outgoing character to the shy Joel. There is just a brief glimpse of his familiar comedic input during the exploration of some childhood memories. These scenes add further to the contrast from his usual role, showing off his true acting ability that so regularly goes unseen. The supporting actors, including Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood and Mark Ruffalo, also put in very respectable performances all round but take nothing away from the leads.

The bewildering twenty minute long pre-credits sequence may well leave many viewers cold and unwilling to put the effort in for the rest of the film. However, effort is exactly what is required and if you appreciate cinematic mindfucks like this film, then that small trouble is well rewarded. Kaufman claims in the commentary (which also includes input from director Michel Gondry) featured on the DVD extras, ‘We always wanted it to be a movie you watch more than once’, and they have definitely succeeded in that. The complexity of the film will leave you wanting to watch it again to allow you to unravel the plot. Thankfully these extra viewings enable you to do exactly that and they also lead to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind becoming an even more enjoyable experience.

The mark of a good film is often how long it remains in your memory for afterwards. In this case, largely due to the extreme oddity throughout the majority of it, you will have no problem in remembering Eternal Sunshine. In fact, it is hard to get it out of your mind, demanding that you find someone else who has seen it in order for you to discuss your interpretations and rave about how much you enjoyed it, together.

DVD Extras –
Feature Commentary: This is the main extra on the DVD, featuring the film’s writer and director. Gondry does the majority of the talking, and although there are some gaps of silence in it, it is largely informative. They discuss many aspects of the experience of making Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and occasionally offer insights into what is really happening in some of the more complex parts of the film. However, they never go too in depth, which may irritate some listeners, but ultimately leaves room for personal interpretation.

Deleted Scenes: There are four deleted and extended scenes, including additional insight into Joel’s life before Clementine. They are brief but well worth watching, leaving you wondering, ‘Why were they cut?’

Documentaries: Two documentaries are featured; the first is ‘A Conversation between Jim Carrey and Michel Gondry’. The title of this is very self-explanatory, and it is well worth watching for the entertaining stories they share. The second documentary is a ‘making of’, and is typical of any of these featurettes on DVDs.

Others: There is also the amusing Lucuna (the memory wipe company) advertisement and an unnecessary but very unusual music video for The Polyphonic Spree’s ‘Light & Day’.

Overall, more extras would be expected for a film of this kind and Eternal Sunshine may well have benefited from being a two-disk DVD. However, most of the extras that are included are well worth watching and will increase your enjoyment of the film.