Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Joel and Clementine have reached breaking point in their relationship, every action, every word triggers the other, so much so, that they each undergo a procedure to remove all trave of the other.

How wonderful a thought, being able to remove all trace of an ex, better still having them remove all trace of you.

It has taken me years to get this film, years, I simply didn't get it, I'd tried several times over the years, it just never clicked, until now. If you're frustrated by the first twenty minutes, I urge you to give it another try.

We've all been there, hurt by a relationship, pushed to the point of despair, how wonderful it would be to remove all trace, it's a wonderful concept, but real life doesn't allow for that, however in film, anything is possible.

Wonderfully nightmarish, but sweet and tender at times too, the moments of hate and loathing are eclipsed by Joel and Clem's tender scenes.

The only thing I can think of that had similar vibes, was Total Recall, dissimilar in most aspects, but that whole memory manipulation theme is similar.

I have forever been a fan of Jim Carrey, and I would regard this as one of his best performances, he's terrific, as is Kate Winslet, the pair combined so well.

9/10.

The first time I saw this movie I found it confusing, a little artsy for my taste and I didn't get it.

But I didn't come in here to give it a 1 point rating or a damning review just because I didn't get it. It would be kind of stupid to pass judgement on a film that I didn't fully understand.

Some years later I watched it for the second time. My ex had just left me, and I don't remember how and why I came by this movie again. But the second time I got it. And how life would be like a bleak dessert, frozen in time, in the eternal sunshine of a spotless mind.

And after watching it a second time I felt hopeful again.

Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) falls for Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) from the first moment they meet on a train. After a bad breakup, Clementine erases Joel from her memories. He decides to do the same to her. Patrick (Elijah Wood), Stan (Mark Ruffalo), and Mary (Kirsten Dunst) are the three slacker technicians who are running Dr. Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson)'s machine. As his memories are eliminated, he starts to fall in love with Clementine all over again. He struggles to hold on to his memories before it's all gone.

The premise is amazing, but it's the imaginative visualization of the process that puts in on another level. Jim Carrey pours his heart into this very difficult disjointed performance. It's very effecting and probably one of his best non-impersonation performance. In its core, it's a beautiful love story. It's funny. It's poignant.

Before the i watched this movie, everyone said it's overrated, overrated, oooooooverrated. And after these returns i thought it's overrated. WHATEVER This movie has a good story and awesome acting performance. But, most important for me: AWESOME EDITING!!! Lovely soundtrack and cool side story into the bargain! ENJOY IT!

After a lukewarm reception in 2001 with "Human Nature", Charlie Kaufman has teamed up with director, Michel Gondry again for this romatic fantasy. With a name like Jim Carrey, this second collaboration couldn't go wrong in terms of box office success, and nor should it as this film is quite simply brilliant.

"Eternal Sunshine" centres around the life of Joel (Jim Carrey) a shy, mild mannered man who is heart broken after splitting from his feisty, impulsive girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet). A short while after their split, he meets her again while she is working at a library and he is stunned to discover that she doesn't recognise him. He later finds out that the reason for this is that Clementine has had her memory of Joel wiped out completely. Dr Howard Mierwick (Tom Wilkinson) has performed an operation on her brain after Clementine visited his clinic to forget Joel. Much to Joel's distress, he decides to do the same, but during his operation he revisits memories of Clementine that he struggles to let go of.

If anyone was in doubt as to whether Jim Carrey can act, this is the film that will put all doubt out of the way. He performs with sensitivity and warmth, never once verging on the manic rubber faced lunacy to which he is most well known for. Out of all the perfomances where he has stepped into the dramtic role (The Truman Show, Man on the Moon, The Majestic), this has got to be his best yet. Kate Winslet is also brilliant as his unpredictable, adventurous girlfriend.

Kaufman's story of a man going into a surreal dream world is not too dissimilar from his earlier work, "Being John Malkovich". You have off the wall images such as Carrey re-enacting his 4 year old self along his journey in his head. The eccentricity of the story, which is Kaufman's trademark, once again works excellently. When watching this you generally care for Carrey and Winslet, in much the same way as Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in "Lost In Translation". Gondry's diection gives a bittersweet flavour to the tale.

The sub plots involving the supporting characters who are operating are ingenius. Tom Wilkinson once again proves that he is one of the best British actors of his generation and he is backed up by great performnces from Kirsten Dunst and a post-LOTR Elijah Wood.

This is a lovely film and if you like originality with a sense of fantasy with a love story, then I suggest you see it. It's one of those films you'll want to see twice.