Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Directed by Michel Gondry.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a highly
original film, which is to be expected as it was written by Charlie Kaufman,
creator of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation. The film begins as Joel Barish, played by Jim
Carrey meets talkative Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) on the train. From
this point Joel and Clementine develop a special bond, but as the film progresses
the audience realises that things are not as they seem.
After living together for a while, Clementine is tired of Joel’s “boring” ways and after an argument decides to undergo a special top- secret procedure which erases any memory that she has of Joel, enabling her to move on in her life. After finding out that she has done this, the slightly reluctant Joel decides to go through with the same procedure. During the process however, he regrets his actions and realises that the memories of Clementine are far too precious to take away and must stop it before it’s too late.
Carrey is superb, and like his roles in The Truman Show and Majestic he shows his more dramatic side, with much success. Although this is the case, Carrey still manages to display his comedic talent in the many humorous moments in the film. It was refreshing to see Kate Winslet ditch her frequent period drama roles and make a transition into romantic comedy. Winslet is an absolute delight and charmingly funny in the role of Joel’s free-spirited girlfriend. Carrey and Winslet as a duo work well together and complement each other on screen. The cast of the film is of high quality, which includes young actors Elijah Wood and Kirsten Dunst who add to the mixture of likeable, yet slightly odd characters in the film.
Overall the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is incredibly enjoyable and imaginative. The film is wonderfully creative with a captivating storyline, and demonstrates many stylistic camera and editing techniques which contribute to the uniqueness of the motion picture.
****½/5
Amanda Giacomin
