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Back Shelf Beauties
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Eternal Sunshine of the Some movies are run of the mill and made to keep your interest for about two hours (you hope), whereas a movie written by Charlie Kaufman is a mental Olympics, and a mind-bending challenge that often makes a commentary about our lives. He has delivered head-tripping movies before (Being John Malkovich and Adaptation), but Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind easily is his most challenging movie to date. Pay attention and you might enjoy this one. Jim Carrey stars as Joel - a dowdy, depressed man dealing with heartache. After breaking up with his volatile girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet), she decided to undergo a new procedure by the Lacuna Company to erase him and all memories of their relationship from her mind. Out of spite, and hoping that this will help him get over the breakup, Joel decides to do the same, so he never has to live with the pain of failed love. However, as the procedure is being done to him, Joel realizes that he wants to keep his memories of Clementine because they're not all bad. To protect them, he must engage in a wild battle where he races around his own brain, relives key moments in his relationship with Clementine and starts to realize something about himself. Can Joel save his memories? Kaufman has created a wonderful, layered script that has so much going for it that I can't tell you everything (because that would ruin the fun and make you hate me, when I'm all about love). Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is funny, sweet, has a message about the memories we hold on to, and engages your brain as you try to keep up and understand what is happening. This is not the film you go to see if you want to take a break from thinking, which may be its best trait. You have to pay attention to the first moments of the film to realize what is going on, and continue to follow along, so you can understand what comes later. Kaufman and director Michel Gondry hop around in time showing you past information when that is relevant, future information when you need that, and create a world unto itself that is full of intrigue, sadness and laughter, much like our own lives. You have to take a leap of faith that what you don't understand will be made clear later, or some small detail will be explained. I hope you'll have the faith and want to live up to the challenge, because it is worth it, especially in the hands of actors like Carrey and Winslet. While most people know Carrey for his wacky comedic roles (Ace Ventura), and don't appreciate his more serious roles (The Majestic), he is the only actor who can take this character and make it work. He is required to be funny, outrageous, soulful, broken-hearted, depressed and willing to fight out of desperation. Joel is a fully realized character that must go through all of the emotions men and women face during a breakup, except he must do it in under two hours. While many could handle the comedy, and others could handle the emotion, Carrey does it all in a believable and triumphant way from Joel's trepidation over the procedure to his loathing of the woman he once loved to his hilarious confrontations with incidents from his past. While Carrey is slightly hampered by his fame, which causes most people to see him instead of a character, Winslet is able to morph into Clementine. She does her best to make the character likable and detestable all at the same time, which is a big hill to climb. From romantic romps on the beach to the ugly fights with Joel, she s perfect. In the end, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of those movies that dares to be about something, and that's worth your time and money this weekend. 3 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com
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