Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Movie Review:


While most moviegoers are quick to jump on one side or the other about Charlie Kaufman’s talents as a screenwriter – some love his work, others hate it – one thing is for sure, he certainly comes up with original ideas. His creativity shines through in screenplays for such unusual films as Adaptation, Being John Malkovich, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Human Nature. Kaufman’s latest brain tickler is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a story about the option to erase someone from your mind when a relationship goes wrong.

By visiting Dr. Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) at the Lacuna Inc. clinic, one can have their memory of someone erased. Then a card is sent to the erased person notifying them the action has happened and telling them not to contact that person again. This is what happens to Joel (Carrey) when his relationship with Clementine (Kate Winslet) sours. Wounded by her rebuff, Joel at first accepts her action and decides he, too, will use Lacuna to erase her memory from his mind. But as the doctor’s crew, Stan (Mark Ruffalo) and Mary (Kirsten Dunst), begin the procedure; Joel decides halfway through he doesn’t want to erase Clementine’s memories and tries to will the procedure to stop.

Like most Kaufman scripts, this story circles around itself and goes from beginning to end and back several times, techniques that the “hate it” group find annoying. At one point even Carrey had some problems figuring out what he was filming. “It was a challenge to know where you are in this script,” he said. “Several times when we were going through the dream memory, I asked Michel (director Michel Gondry), is it lucid or the way it was?”

Somewhat less imbued with the comedic aspects of most Kaufman works, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind clearly resonates with both Kaufman and Gondry’s (who, along with Pierre Bismuth, contributed story elements) overall theme about romance – an idea Carrey responded to as well. “In the moment, erasing a memory is an interesting idea; but in retrospect you can always look back on something that was a disaster and find some gems in there,” Carrey stated. “When I read the script I enjoyed that this was not like a lot of movies about memory. It’s a different perspective about being erased and how that would feel, and that was the strongest pull for me, when he finds out that she erased him. It’s a brutal thing to anyone’s ego, but a male ego especially.”

Although Carrey does have some funny moments in the film, he and Winslet are almost reversed in terms of expectations. He’s the more serious one; she, with her colorful new hairdos everyday, the more hilarious. “I play the chaotic figure who pulls silly faces,” said Winslet. “The script was unbelievably clever and brilliant, and it had a heart to it as well.”

Rounding out more of the funnier moments in the film are Dunst, Ruffalo and Elijah Wood (Patrick) as the Lacuna erase team. All talented actors, they bring a heightened sense of awareness to their roles, yet blend into the story without overshadowing it.

Filmed by Gondry with few special effects, the film often has a documentary feel to it. Gondry, who also directed Kaufman’s Human Nature, does a keen job of working through the memory process and presenting those before-and-after memories. Keen, that is, if you don’t mind not knowing where you’re at in the story.

Diana Saenger

It’s been almost 2 years since we have had a glimpse at the upside-down world of script-crafter Charlie Kaufman. The Oscar nominated screenwriter has delivered such head scratching films as “Human Nature”, “Being John Malkovich” and “Adaptation”. He is probably looked at as one of most original and thought-provoking screenwriters working in Hollywood today.

Kaufman’s latest is once more a strange script that teeters on the barriers of our minds. For “Eternal Sunshine” Kaufman re-teams with “Human Nature” director Michel Gondry, who has practically disappeared from Hollywood and directing since 2001’s “Human Nature”.

The film finds quiet, lonely man Joel Barrish (Jim Carrey) meeting Clementine (Kate Winslet), a free-spirited, energetic and talkative woman one day while on the train. Clementine brings a breath of fresh air to his cluttered world and he is captivated by her energy. She makes him feel alive. But eventually their conflicting personalities lash out at one and other and they break up. Joel is devastated.

Attempting to reconcile with Clem, Joel approaches her at work. He is blown over when she doesn’t remember or hardly acknowledge he exists. And if that wasn’t enough she already has a new boyfriend (Elijah Wood). This isn’t natural and it isn’t one of her games instead it feels like he is on another plane of existence.

Eventually Joel discovers a letter from Lacuna Inc. He visits the agency to find out what has happened. It turns out that they can erase painful memories from a patient’s mind and that Clem had Joel removed. Desperate to start over, Joel signs up for the very same procedure. It is just that simple or is it? Breaking up is so hard to do.

When watching a Kaufman movie, nothing is what it seems. The only common threads in his scripts are the unexpected, craziness and a lonely guy dealing with a traumatic problem. John Cusack, Nicolas Cage and now Jim Carrey all play that kind of man to perfection. Carrey in “Eternal” seems more hopeless because for some reason there seems to be more of a lost soul in his grasp of the character. Carrey has yet to be taken seriously as a dramatic actor and that is shame. I have thoroughly enjoyed all his dramatic turns and he is great here as well.

Winslet is perfect as the free-spirit who seems to live vicariously through her rash hair color decisions. Winslet is able to keep the audience on pins and needles and we can see a lot of what she is as if we are looking at her through Joel. I especially enjoyed Winslet when she is playing the Clem inside Joel’s mind. It is strange how the film can allow you to see that distinction.

There is a message that the film talks about that really hit close to home. If we do attempt to vanquish a person, time, place or event from our minds then we do tend to erase the good and bad. Sometimes we need those bad memories so that we can see the good ones also. It is an amazing thought.

This film is layers upon layers like Kaufman likes it. Within those layers I found myself getting lost in portions. But the times where I was involved in them I was swept away. This film was hard to distinguish between what I enjoyed and what bugged me. I know that I enjoyed it but I couldn’t figure out why. The funny thing is that I had the same feeling with “Being John Malkovich”.

It is another amazing script and a definite improvement over the previous Kaufman-Gondry project, “Human Nature”. Kaufman is back in fine form.

(4 out of 5)

So Says the Soothsayer

Dean Kish

Joel (Carrey) can’t get over the fact that Clementine (Winslet) has left him. What makes it worse is that she refuses to acknowledge that she even knows him. This isn’t deliberate however because Clementine has undergone a new procedure that can remove selected memories, so she has had Joel totally erased from her past. Distraught, Joel dashes to Lacuna and begs Dr. Mierzwiak (Wilkinson) to do the same for him. What he doesn’t know is that as the memories disappear from his mind, he witnesses them all over again and he realises that he doesn’t want to lose what he had with Clementine from his life.

Charlie Kaufman is one of the most original screenwriter working in cinema today but his movies have never really appealed to a wide audience, until now.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is his most accessible work yet but before you think he has sold out to the Hollywood machine, this is also the best screenplay he has ever written. This is a complete story of the love and loss that captures its essence at there most pure then rising some interesting questions in the process. What if you could have painful memories erased? What if you could totally forget the most hurtful moments of your life? Would this make life easier or would you be a lesser person because of it? All these questions and more are brought to the forefront as we examine not just Joel and Clementine’s lives but our own as well.

Kaufman’s fantastic script is thrust into existence by a tremendous cast capped by two outstanding performances from Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey. When Carrey plays it straight he reveals that he can be an exciting and brilliant actor. If he can restrain the rubber-faced, manic idiot from dragging him into one-dimensional performances, he is a real, award worthy talent. This role as Joel is one of those parts that showcases what he can do. This is natural, heartfelt acting that takes you on Joel’s roller coaster ride of emotion as the good and the bad of his relationship is laid bare for all to see. The same can be said for Kate Winslet’s performance as Clementine. She is an accomplished character actress (sporting a splendid American accent) who draws you into the emotion and passion that Clementine is feeling in the real world but she also plays it straight as the voice of reason within Joel’s ever decreasing mind.

An exquisite supporting cast backs up the two tremendous leads. Kristen Dunst proves again that she is a real talent. This is a pivotal performance in the movie, though you might not think it, as Dunst seems to breeze through the film without care in the world until her character comes to the forefront and the actress comes into her own. Mark Ruffalo’s reputation takes another big step upwards as technician Stan. He provides a lot the of the comic relief in the movie working well with both Dunst and Elijah Wood. Wood himself is a typically eccentric Kaufman character and he has no trouble dropping his good guy image to play someone downright seedy. Tom Wilkinson is also great as Dr. Howard Mierzwiak, the man behind Lacuna.

An exceptional script and performances are brought together brilliantly by Michael Gondry. The former advert director’s vision is superb as he takes us on a trip into Joel’s mind. The editing is spot on, revealing plot hints as you go and then throwing the ending straight at you, leaving you completely overwhelmed. The subtle special effects give the illusion of disappearing memories as Clementine is slowly wiped from Joel’s mind. This is expertly handled as the dreamlike images flash before your eyes pulling you into his subconscious. This movie will put Gondry on the map as a visionary director to watch out for.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a wonderful love story wrapped up in a fantasy film. As well as been gleefully entertaining it will also raise questions about your own life and if taking away certain memories would change the person that you are. We’re all the sum of our own experiences and this is the message of the film that will grab you and refuse to let go, as you see parts of your own life in Joel and Clementine’s, making the movie a must see for everyone.

Star Rating = * * * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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