It may not be a film favored by people who like to stay in the simple mainstream style of films, but for those who enjoy a certain style and twist to the art, it is truly remarkable in every sense of the word.
Originality seems to be a tough thing to come by these days when watching any movie. Lack of originality in itself would have to be my biggest complaint in any of today's films. Many of them have plot and substance, but they often take me to places I've been to and have seen several times before. However, there are those few rare moments when a film may give me familiar elements but dare to say "what if"? "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is exactly that type of film, one that dares to challenge its own unique story telling and manages to touch the audience's feelings and emotions on a scale like no other film has done for quite some time.
Writer Charlie Kaufman and director Michel Gondry deliver a story full of the familiar substance of love and relationships. However, the story presents a unique addition by taking us somewhere we have never been before, and that is the actual mind itself. Let me warn that "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is not a movie for everyone. It's an arty, independent film with the usual gritty look that you would expect from a low-budget movie. There is plenty of handheld camera action and abrupt editing points, but that's not what may or may not be difficult for certain audiences. What's difficult is that the film may come across as quite bizarre, quite strange. As for me, I ate this film up like a piece of Halloween candy.
The film involves a love relationship between Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) and Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet). Joel is a quiet, somewhat reclusive character who really seems to have done very little to truly experience life. Clementine, on the other hand, is a spontaneous, outgoing, unsettled female. For her, life is a playground full of adventure, and as for Joel, Clementine's behavior tends to fall short of the expectations he feels he would need in a relationship. Eventually, Clementine resorts to drinking and staying out late at night without Joel, which eventually leads to their breakup. Personally, Clementine reminded me of my ex-wife, but what worried me more is that I might be like Joel. Pleasantly enough, though, I felt a good connection with the characters and was able easily to relate to their problems.
After Clementine leaves, she goes to a special doctor, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), who performs a procedure that erases the memory of Joel from her brain. Joel finds out the hard way what she has done. He then goes to the same doctor, where he is greeted by the lovely receptionist Mary (Kirsten Dunst). He asks Dr. Mierzwiak to perform the same procedure, thus having the memory of Clementine erased from his brain. It sounds like a simple enough procedure: you are to gather up all belongings that may trigger memories of that person, and then bring them to the doctor's office where you have some brain machine placed over your head. Yes, it may sound easy enough, but this is where the movie delivers a ride of mind benders.
At one point, you're in the doctor's office under a strange machine, and even stranger things begin to happen. Next thing, Joel is in his apartment, passed out on his bed while two specialists from Dr. Mierzwiak's office, Stan (Mark Ruffalo) and Patrick (Elijah Wood), attempt to erase the memories in his brain with some strange helmet device and a laptop computer. As this is happening in the outside world, we are whisked away into Joel's memories as they are played out in a way we would all relate to as a dream state. And being in a kind of dream state, you can only imagine how bizarre and twisted the story becomes.
From this point, we are delivered an odd but rather powerful story that explores the psyche as never seen before. There are strange moments and rather well-thought-out effects that show us how remarkably bizarre dreams can be. However, in Joel's dream state, we are only seeing the memories of Clementine as each one of them is being strategically removed from his mind. At one point, Joel begins to figure out what is happening and attempts to hide Clementine in a memory she would not belong in. This becomes interesting because he attempts to take her into his own childhood. Nevertheless, in the outside world the brain specialist's deal with the dilemma of what Joel is attempting with his mind as it is something they have never seen before.
The film does take some rather redeeming plot turns and twists, but it is relentless when it comes to keeping the audience subtly surprised. I think what intrigued me the most was the question of, if you could erase the memory of someone from your mind, would you? The film challenges this question and manages to enchant us with what would be good and bad about it. What's even more delightful is that the film doesn't provide a clear answer for you, and it gives you, the audience member, a chance to answer the question for yourself. Ultimately, it comes down to a matter of your own perspective, and this is where the movie succeeds. It never comes out and says that erasing your memories would be the best overall solution to your mental problems; it simply shows us what if it were possible. I honestly think some people would do it; as for myself, I would find it tempting, but I still need further thought on the matter.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]12382[/release]