Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi
Over 50 Four-Star Rave Reviews!
From acclaimed writer Charlie Kaufman and visionary director Michel Gondry comes Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. An all-star ensemble cast shines in this comical and poignant look at breakups, breakdowns and breakthroughs.
Joel (Jim Carrey) is stunned to discover that his girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet), has had their tumultuous relationship erased from her mind. Out of desperation, he contacts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), to get
the same treatment. But as his memories of Clementine begin to fade, Joel suddenly realizes how much he still loves her.
Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood co-star in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - a memorable film that The Wall Street Journal calls "a romantic comedy unlike any other!"
Storyline: A man, Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend Clementine underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realizes that he still
loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake. Written by anonymous
User Comment: Danny_G13 Glasgow, Scotland • Yes folks, Hollywood's produced an original film *gasp* Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind seems to be billed as a light-hearted bittersweet comedy, but the truth is much
further from this. Jim Carrey features in his joint best role to date (with the Truman Show), as a socially inadequate loner who takes an impulsive detour on the way to work one day, and meets Clementine on a beach in a resort called Montock.
Initially awkward around her, she gets into his life but events begin to get confusing as it emerges that she's had him erased from her memory. To divulge more would spoil the plot, and it baffles me that IMDb's outline reveals aspects we don't find out
till later.
This is a movie which relies on 3 crucial things: a strong sense of a psychological mystery, superb performances, particularly from the 2 leads, and a level of originality I don't remember seeing anywhere else. These 3 combine to grip the viewer at all
times and allow the story to unfold in a way which may seem confusing, but which forces the viewer to stick with it, intrigued to learn the truth behind what's going on. The movie is aided by a very genuine performance from Carrey, who excels as Joey and
continues to prove that Carrey's Liar Liar days are only one aspect of his repertoire.
On the other hand we have the incredible Winslet. Her performance is exponentially more admirable given the fact she's an English actress with an absolutely faultless American accent. I forgot she *was* English such was the natural sound of her accent.
Other cast of Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Tom Wilkinson provide A-List backup but you can't help but feel they're all a bit wasted here with such comparatively minor roles. Particularly Dunst who's now surely, along with Wood, a leading
lady. Anyway, I nitpick. This is a great film with a lot of impressive elements to it.
Maybe not the greatest film ever made, but premier league certainly. Recommended.
Summary: Incredible originality
--- JOYA ---
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