Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
exquisite mind game, not for casual moviegoers, 28 Nov 2007
Yeah, "Eternal Sunshine" is a mess, but what a sweet and beautiful mess it is. It might be quite a difficult watch for some, but ultimately rewarding if you invest enough time and patience to sit through. Somewhat reminiscent of an Andrei Tarkovsky, Wachowski Bros, David Lynch and Christopher Nolan film, our protagonist Joel bounces between twisting realities under a highly non-linear narrative structure.
As I always say, fragmented storytelling is not a cinch. Rather, it is a high-wire act. On the page, it might read well; but on the screen, if you don't put everything on proper places, you will run the risk of losing the viewer pretty quickly. Thankfully, that doesn't happen in "Eternal Sunshine" due to the magical touch of two talented mind-gamers: writer Charlie Kaufman and director Michel Gondry, both like messing with expectations as well as human psyche. Take Kaufman's "Being John Malkovich", "Human Nature" and "Adaptation", you'll get what I mean.
The premise of the film is based on a breakthrough technique (Lacuna) to expunge unpleasant memories off people's brains. Being engaged in a flawed relationship destined to fail at the very beginning, Joel wakes up one day and finds Clem left him. He realizes that she had him erased from her memories. Love-torn, confused and enraged, he decides to do the very same thing rather than living with the pang of losing and missing her. Then when he trapped in sleep, we take up a pleasing albeit mind-bending journey into the depths of Joel's subconscious. We see their relationship within a time loop: in reverse-order flashbacks starting with the most painful memories of the breakup and working forward to the earlier, sweeter ones. But, as Joel relives his moments with Clem, he realizes that the good times he had with her are so precious to him. So he tries to put her into other parts of his memory so that she will never to totally forgotten.
Overall, "Eternal Sunshine" is an offbeat experience and definitely a triumph of romantic sci/fi subgenre. Highly recommended.
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
Astoundingly original, 31 Aug 2005
I had heard great things about this movie and when I finally saw it I was completely blown away. It's brilliantly inventive, with the idea of Joel (Jim Carrey) trying to erase the memory of his girlfriend (Kate Winslet) but his mind tries to stop him. There's much more to it than that but there's no point in spoiling it. This is one you can't really describe but you have to see it.Carrey gives the performance of his career, and is far away from his more 'zany' roles like in Ace Ventura or Liar Liar. He is truly believable as Joel and Kate Winslet was also a revelation, with excellent chemistry between them. The support cast is also great, with Tom Wilkinson and Kirsten Dunst (I love her) particularly standing out. It's definitely the best non-action film I've seen for a long time. I say 'non-action' because Eternal Sunshine doesn't really slot into a particular genre, with elements of comedy, drama, romance, sci-fi, fantasy all thrown in for good measure. But if there was a genre called 'Fantastic' then this would fit right in it!
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
Eternally bright, 9 Jan 2006
Charlie Kaufman is known for creating films that bend the mind -- "Being John Malkovich," "Adaptation," "Human Nature." But he takes a slightly different turn in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," a sort of romantic dark comedy that raises questions about memory and identity. It may not be the best of Kaufman's work, but it's in some ways the most endearing.Uptight Joel (Jim Carrey) is shocked to learn that his likably flaky ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has taken unusual measures, post-breakup. She's having her memories of him erased from her brain at Lacuna Inc. When he learns WHY she broke up with him (she thought he was boring), he gets mad and decides to have the same thing done to himself. So a group of offbeat techies and doctors (Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Kirsten Dunst) begin to erase the memories of Clementine from Joel's brain (Wood's character also tries to use Joel's memories to seduce Clementine). Problem is, his brain doesn't want to let them go. It pokes Clementine into parts of his memory where she doesn't belong, so he won't have to let go. And viewing the memories makes him fall in love all over again... "Dark romantic comedy" is the closest thing that "Eternal Sunshine" has to a description. Like Kaufman's other films, it's funny in a subtle way, and more obviously sweet and romantic. Not to mention thought-provoking. If you could erase unpleasant memories, would you do it, if it changed the person you were? If we get rid of the pain, do we also get rid of the joy? Michel Gondry is best known for his work on Bjork, Radiohead and White Stripes music videos -- deliciously strange ones. Somehow, he fits perfectly into directing "Eternal Sunshine." A trip through a person's brain is a hard thing to manage, but he does it -- surreal little images like a teeny tiny Winslet and Carrey bathing in a kitchen sink, or lying on the ice. It's weird, and it works. At the same time, he can capture more mundane moments well. Jim Carrey gives what may be his best "serious" role ever, as the conflicted, lovelorn Joel. Kate Winslet's Clementine breaks the mold of "romantic comedy heroine" with her free-spirited wackiness. Together, they make a flawed couple that you really want to see together. And Elijah Wood takes what could have been an empty role and turns Patrick into a rather pitiful, lonely figure, rather than a 2-D creep. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is not the best from Charlie Kaufman's fertile brain, but this melancholy dark comedy is well worth checking out. A wonderful, prismatic film.
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