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16 reviews, 216 user ratings
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| Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind |
by John Rice
"A dark, beautiful, slow burn."
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If there is one drawback to the long history of film and much longer history of literature, it is that there are rarely any reasonably new ideas. Even what seems to be the most creative story is often mostly a reworking of something that has already been done. In the last few years, the screenplays of Charlie Kaufman have been a notable exception. His first original work brought to film, Being John Malkovich (he had previously written for several television shows) involved a hidden floor in an office building which is a secret portal into the mind of actor John Malkovich, allowing those who passed through it to take over the body of the actor. A later screenplay, Adaptation, adapted from the Susan Orlean novel The Orchid Thief included the author herself in the story as well as Kaufman and his imaginary twin brother Donald, who is even given co-writing credit, a fact which is worked into the movie itself.Kaufman's latest work, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, is based on a story he co-wrote with Pierre Bismuth and director Michel Gondry. With Eternal Sunshine, Kaufman has mostly remedied the main weakness of his previous works, which is a tendency to let the silliness of peripheral elements in the story overshadow its strengths. These elements are still there, probably more than they should be, but not enough to be as distracting as he has made them in the past. At its most serious level, Eternal Sunshine explores the delicate nature of intimate relationships and how they so often become destructive, to the point where the people involved will blindly stop at nothing to hurt the person they recently cared so much for. While it is promoted as a comedy and is tempered with many moments of levity, the ultimate meaning is actually quite somber. It is also an unusually complicated movie, with an often non-linear narrative which gives few clues to the actual order of events, but each piece of the puzzle the viewer manages to put in place can be something of a revelation. Simply put, this story is meaningful, something almost anyone who has ever been in a serious relationship can relate to, and thoroughly brilliant.
After a relationship which ended badly, Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) has the memory of Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) removed from her mind in a somewhat experimental procedure promoted by Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) and carried out by his less than competent employees Patrick (Elijah Wood) Stan (Mark Ruffalo) and Mary (Kirsten Dunst). When Joel drops by to visit the woman he lived with for two years, he not only discovers that she has a new, much younger boyfriend, but she acts as though she's never met him. After a bit of detective work, Joel discovers the procedure she has had done and decides to do have her removed from his memory as well.
At the doctor's office, a computerized map is created of Joel's brain, identifying all memories which include Clementine. Joel is given a sleeping pill to take that night so a pair of technicians can perform the procedure while he sleeps. Beginning with the most recent and working backward to the oldest, every memory of Clementine is systematically erased, indicated by an electronic "chirp" from the computer.
What Joel does not expect is that he actually relives each memory before it is erased. At the beginning, this does not present a problem for him, since it starts with his last confrontation with Clementine. As the two move down the street, screaming at each other, cars fall from the sky, buildings disappear and store signs go blank until the tell-tale chirp, and the memory is gone.
Of course, every relationship, no matter how hateful it may become, started for a reason. As Joel moves back through his memories, he slowly realizes the many reasons he and Clementine came together in the first place. He soon decides he not longer wants the procedure and attempts to find ways to prevent its completion. This is where the most powerful aspect of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind comes to light, as he and Clementine actually step out of the past in their effort to save its memory. It is fascinating to watch, as the two essentially re-enact their past, suddenly stop, both with full knowledge of how hateful they became toward each other, and try to prevent it from being lost.
The weakest aspect of the story is the antics going on in Joel's apartment during the procedure. While it adds some levity to what is essentially a rather dark story, as well as raising some Philip Dick style musings on memory as reality, it mostly serves to muddle an already complicated narrative. The performances by Elijah Wood and Kirsten Dunst as the childish technician Patrick and receptionist Mary are two dimensional and rather uninspired. Only the part of Stan, played by Mark Ruffalo, generates much interest, not so much due to how the character is drawn, but by how skillfully and humorously it is portrayed by a talented actor.
The brilliance of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is in how the two main characters interact as their memory of each other disappears. The moments when they simply stop and talk are heart breaking, particularly during the final 20 minutes, such as when Clementine urges Joel to try to change one memory to how they both wish it had been. It is a remarkably original story, but one which many viewers should have little trouble relating to. I rarely hope for any movie to win awards, but if there is even a sliver of justice in the world, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind will at least be nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar and it would be a genuine shame if it does not win several of the other major original screenplay awards. It genuinely is that good.
Almost equal to the screenplay are the performances in the leading roles. Jim Carrey plays his own anti-character as the insecure, quiet, repressed but creative Joel. Viewers expecting anything even remotely similar to the standard Carrey performance are in for a surprise. It is wonderful to see an actor like Carrey play such a subtlely textured, subdued character with this degree of restraint and finesse. Kate Winslet is equally impressive as the gregarious Clementine. In a sense, she is also playing completely against her typical character as a boisterous, heavy drinking young woman who actually has many the same insecurities as Joel, but copes with them in a completely different way.
This review originally appeared on Slacker-Reviews.comEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is not a finely calculated film. It is passionate and quite human, warts and all. Some viewers may leave unsatisfied or even upset at its seeming lack of resolution. In fact, how it is perceived to end is likely to be quite different depending on the individual. I suspect viewers will see in it what they expect to see, and maybe that it its greatest strength.
link directly to this review at https://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=8888&reviewer=373
originally posted: 01/12/05 09:05:46
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USA
19-Mar-2004 (R)
DVD: 04-Jan-2005
UK
N/A
Australia
15-Apr-2004 (M)
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