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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Directed by Michel Gondry, written by Charlie Kaufman. Story: A clinic employs a technique to erase memories of bad relationships. A couple use the clinic with mixed results. Running Time: 108 minutes.
In the immortal words of Monty Python, "And now for something completely different." And yet not. If you've seen Being John Malkovich, you can use your opinion of that and map it pretty successfully onto Eternal Sunshine. Charlie Kaufman wrote that as well, and it has a very similar feel. It is inventive not only in story, but also in look and technique, which adds significantly to the experience, as it feels like we're seeing something genuinely new.
This is a marvellously entertaining film. It's very rare that I see a movie and be prepared to see it again a week later, but this is one of those movies. It's novel, it's clever, it's real and it's bizarre. You already know from reading this whether you're going to like it or not. Believe it, you're going to be right.
I enjoyed this film: I think the average moviegoer will enjoy it: Testosterone Satisfaction Rating: Kirsten Dunst jumping on the bed in her underwear whilst under the influence of an illegal substance. To enjoy this film you should be: Prepared for something a little different. |
A few words about the story. I shan't give too much away - suffice to
say that there is a clinic that can erase the memories of a painful
relationship, and that the two stars Joel and Clementine both use the clinic
to try and delete their side of their relationship. Much of the film takes
place inside Joel's head and it is these scenes that make the movie so
special. The scenes sway and metamorphose in just the same way as the images
in your head - not necessarily literally, but in feel.
This is a remarkable achievement - I can't think of any other
movie that even comes close to capturing the feel of dreams and the fluid
nature of pictures in the mind, but these sequences are utterly fascinating,
making it almost disappointing when they end and we are spat back into the
real world. The background story is important, however, as it does provide
a solid contrast to the ethereal nature of the headline sequences.
A lot of people don't like Jim Carrey. I urge you, if you're one of
those people, suspend your opinion and try out this one. He's not goofy here,
he's not daft, he's just a timid little man struggling with a normal life.
Somehow his previous characters help him along with his portrayal of Joel,
just as Jack Nicholson's prior roles helped in About Schmidt. I admit
Carrey's performance isn't as strong as other actors might have achieved, but
the detachment and surrealism he gives to Joel are in fact a benefit
rather than a hindrance and it works very effectively.
Kate Winslet creates a charming Clementine, likeable and yet clearly half
a pork pie short of a picnic. The supporting cast seem not particularly
important in the grand scheme of things, but fulfil the remit nicely to
ground the story in the midst of the fantasy that takes place inside Joel's
mind. Kirsten Dunst cements her image as the
impossibly-delicious-yet-somehow-believably-attainable totty quota, and also
adds to the impression that:
I haven't said anything bad yet - so for the sake of completeness I'll
touch on the little plot items that didn't work. One client of the
memory-erasing clinic rings in to ask for her sixth treatment within a month -
how did she know about the other five if her memory of them had been erased?
There is at least one other fairly sizeable logic hole in the story that I
can't describe without spoiling it for you - but to
be honest I wouldn't have noticed these had the movie not got me thinking in
the first place, so I'm not going to mark it down for them. It's a thinking
viewer's movie, which is why it disappeared from the schedules so fast.
If you like to sit in front of a movie and switch off, Eternal Sunshine
isn't going to work for you.
But if you're that kind of person, you won't have read this far anyway.
