Year of Release: 2004
Director: Michel Gondry
Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Tom Wilkinson, David Cross, Jane Adams, Deirdre O'Connell, Debbon Ayer
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 8
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Synopsis and Review:
Following his previous collaboration with Charlie Kaufman on "Human Nature", director Michel Gondry returned with what has turned out to be one of his most successful directorial efforts. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" follows the story of Joel Barish, who we discover is still reeling from the recent dissolution of a relationship with the beautiful and quirky Clementine Kruczynski. Much to his surprise, he discovers she has decided to have her memories of him and their relationship erased, which crushes him. Pained by the discovery, he decides to go to the same place, and have his memories equally erased. However during the procedure, he realizes he wants to cancel it, but as much as he tries to wake up, he can't. To make matters worse, the technicians performing the procedure include Patrick, who has been using Joel's memories to try and form a bond and relationship with Clementine. As Joel and the memories of Clementine try to escape the erasure process, the technicians sum up Dr. Howard Mierzwiak, the owner of the practice, in order to locate Joel's memories and finish the procedure. Howard himself has had some issues in his life, namely his relationship with Mary Svevo, the receptionist from Lacuna, who has had her memories erased, but who keeps falling in love with him no matter what, much to the derision of Howard's wife. As Joel's memories get erased, the life connection he has with Clementine still keeps drawing them together.
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" manages to be a film that is simultaneously smartly written, but also and just as effectively, visually enticing and splendidly crafted. Charlie Kaufman's scripts are always wonderfully nuanced, not only because they're unique at the core of their idea, such as the porthole into John Malkovich's brain in "Being John Malkovich", but also how they deconstruct relationships, the connection between individuals, which he perfectly illustrates in "Eternal..." but also "Anomalisa" for instance. What is so remarkable about "Eternal..." is the fact that as Joel's memories get erased, we witness this enticing journey of discovering who this character is, how his connection with Clementine was built, and why these two seemingly so different individuals actually make sense together. It's a film that has heart, humor, and even creepiness in the shape of the other relationships that permeate it, and that ultimately inform, that the pain of relationships, of what all of us go through, is ultimately what makes life worth living. The cast is uniformly fantastic, led by the always wonderful Jim Carrey and fantastic Kate Winslet, with great support from Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Tom Wilkinson. The cinematography from Ellen Kuras is superb, as is the score from Jon Brion. A great film always worth revisiting.
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