Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind DVD > Reviews > Jim Carry can act?

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?	Outstanding

Advantages:	Fantastic film
Disadvantages:	Not pubicised right

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

It's unfortunate that this movie wasn't a big box office success. But then good movies rarely are. In a departure from Carry's usual work, we're shown a serious side of his acting. Here we see a fantastic poetic and well done movie which is both intelligent, funny and entertaining.

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Story
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The story is simple. Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, they have a fantastic time together for a while. But something goes wrong and they're not as happy anymore. Clementine (Kate Winslet) decides to have her memory of Joel (Jim Carry) erased. When Joel finds out he's distraught and decides to do use the same procedure to wipe Clementine from his memory.

As a team of somewhat sloppy memory wipers (including Elijah Wood) get to work on erasing every trace of Clementine we get to see inside Joel's head. As his memories of Clementine fade, Joel realises how much he loves her.

The visual masterpiece that is Eternal sunshine here begins as we get to see some of the best (and worst) memories of their relationship as they're being erased. From the crazy spontaneous love through to the boring stages of a stale relationship.

Something about this story captivates the audience. It doesn't glamorise love, the story is original yet familiar. The film is science fiction yet so real. It doesn't focus on the technology but on the emotional and human aspects.

It is also elaborate. If you watch it twice then you will notice things you didn't before. Watch it again and you'll pick up on other small hints and little background bits. The special effects aren't thrown in your face, it's subtle and used when it's needed. The story comes first, nowhere in the film do you think "they put that bit in to be flashy" or anything like that, it's story driven.

It is one of those films which has a small twist at the end. Not so much of a twist, more a point of clarity for the audience. The film never made a song and dance about it the way a blockbuster would. But all the way through the film you notice little bits which indicate what's coming.

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Characters
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This is more a realistic vision of the world than most science fiction films. The characters are real. There isn't a big white clean machine to wipe someone's memory, it's just two guys with a helmet who drink beer. Every character in this is human and more dynamic and complex than you get in most movies.

The main characters are:

Clementine (Kate Winslet): She's a crazy girl who's spontaneous and weird but in a good way. When you see her you realise why Joel loves her, you're drawn in immediately to her quirky behaviour. We all know a Clementine, and we all love a Clementine - doesn't care about what people think, fun, interesting.

Joel (Jim Carry): The opposite of Clementine. He'd just got out of a bad relationship when he met Clem and was quite depressive. A perfect compliment to her. He's quite serious but he enjoys the spontaneity of Clem. It's almost like he grounds Clem and she helps him be happy. They're good for each other - opposites attract.

Elijah wood: I've neglected to remember his character name. He's one of two people who work to wipe peoples memories one by one using a computer and a helmet. He's a little bit creepy and pervy and just a kid really.

Mary (Kirsten Dunst): She works with Elijah and the other guy and smokes pot with them etc. She's a side character that becomes important to the story but doesn't' t have much about her of interest.

The acting is fantastic. You really believe the chemistry between Carry and Winslet, the awkwardness and the love, the fights. I was in disbelief when I saw Carry acting without making a silly face or noise! Through the Truman show (another fantastic movie) and this he's shown that he actually does have a range as an actor.
Minor Characters are also well acted. You just believe them and they were well chosen for their parts. Again, you feel like they're human and not extras.

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Soundtrack
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It sets off the movie well. To be honest it wasn't that memorable but the overall artistic appearance of the movie was fantastic so it must have suited well. There's some quirky little bits for Clementine and some dull bits for Joel.

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DVD Extras
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If I had known there was a 2 disk special edition then I would have got it. But unfortunately I didn't. The extras on this are rubbish, just a documentary which is very uninformative. I believe there might be a commentary (who listens to those?) and a trailer. Bog standard and rubbish in my opinion

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Conclusion
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Everyone who worked on making this film did their job right. This is what movies are supposed to be - someone's artistic vision put into a medium that everyone can watch. At no point do you feel it was compromised for viewing figures or restrictions. Everything fits the story perfectly.

This is much like American Beauty, an original story which we feel some connection to shown the way the director and writers wanted us to see. Using the medium in a sort of poetic way.

Eternal Sunshine's name was far too long, it wasn't well publicised and it just didn't hit the box office as well as it should have. Everyone who worked on marketing this film did their job wrong. But it is just a brilliant film which I can't fault at all.

After watching it three times, I still want to watch it again. What else could there be in there for me to spot? What other links can I make between the end and start of the film? Fantastic film, great story, brilliant acting and a contradiction - being both so real and complete science fiction. Not to mention fun and entertaining.

Thanks for reading.
Dean.