Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind DVD > Reviews > far too clever for its own good.

Author's product rating:   

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

Advantages:	/
Disadvantages:	/

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

If Salvador Dali had been schooled in the art of cinematography and film production, then I'm sure that this is just the sort of film he would have turned out. Like his paintings its easy enough to see what is in front of your eyes with this film, it's a bit harder to understand what writers Kaufman and Gondry are actual trying to say. It's a very clever story, intricate, hard to follow at times, very imaginative and dare I say it, just a bit too pretentious for its own good. It's the sort of the film equivalent of a Damien Hirst art piece or a bottle of Romanee-Conti (supposedly the worlds most expensive vintage wine), and by that I mean it is the sort of film that attracts people who just want to talk about it, rather than actually enjoy watching it. It lends itself to the subject matter of those pseudo-intellectual types who talk rather too loudly in bars, but that's enough waffle, what's the story.

Joel Barish is a socially inept individual, shy in the extreme and breezing aimlessly along in his ordinary life, when he meets Clementine. She is a whirlwind of a girl opinionated, forward, kooky and the total opposite to Joel. They unexpectedly connect and an unlikely relationship ensues. Much later after an argument, Clementine uses the services of Lacuna Inc, a mind erasing medical unit, after the treatment she has no recollection of ever having met Joel. After a confusing time, trying to piece together what has happened, Joel decides to play her at her own game and undergoes the same treatment. The result should be them both moving forward into their separate futures erased from each other's mind. The film now moves into a very surreal format. As Joel Barish experiences his memories of their life together he realises that he what's to retain his memories of Clementine after all. Unfortunately the process of erasing Joel's mind has begun and Joel finds himself running through his memories trying to hang on to his past.

The film is ultimately about relationships, break-ups and reflections on past romance. In its very vague and subtle way it explores how our memories shape our understanding of the past. Its tells us that when relationships go wrong we seem to wallow in the negative rather than celebrating the good memories of that time. The film concludes with the idea also that even if you know that things won't go the distance, it's worth experiencing the positive and joyful parts of a life together before dealing with the less enjoyable.

It's a film of extremes; some parts are extremely beautiful and touching, other parts are just too strange for superlatives, but the good outweighs the bad and the film remains eminently watch able, even if a lot of it goes over the watchers head. Gondrys direction is as strange and vibrant as Kaufman's script and there are some fantastic background visuals to match the equally bizarre human element to the story. As a lot of the film is set in Joel's memory as part of it is being erased, there are lots of scenes where the background slowly vanishes as the characters try to flee to safety. There is also a clever forced perspective scene where Joel returns to his childhoods and has to appear small compared to other actors in the scene, much like the scenes Peter Jackson produced for Lord of the Rings. Indeed most of the unique scenes in Eternal Sunshine are produced using old style camera tricks; the reliance on digital technology is at a total minimum. There is also a strange running order to the film. The film begins with the second meeting of Joel and Clementine, moves through the first meeting, cuts to the end of their time together and then views everything through Joel's memories, before returning to the beginning again and in true Monty Python style the credits don't appear until 18 minutes into the film.

Although Nicholas Cage was considered for the lead, surprisingly we find Jim Carey in the role. Although known for that wacky cartoon character style, here he gives a much more measured performance and you can see a potential hitherto hidden by typecasting. Kate Winslet is the over the top Clementine and she also gives a stellar performance. The support comes from Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood and Mark Ruffalo who between them provide a, just as weird, subplot that stops the film wandering off into complete absurdity.

It is one of those films that will divide the views. Some will find it an inspired piece of film, others will find it absurd and impossible to get to grips with, but as the quote says it's a find line between genius and madness. It is challenging and requires a lot of commitment by the viewer. I for one found it a bit to too full of itself, but it has some lovely touches which make it thought provoking and interesting. Its a unique film but the low rate is due to the fact that ultimately I didnt really work for me. Not one for the faint hearted.