Empire's Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind Movie Review

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
As weird and wonderful as ever

Plot
Shy Joel Barish (Carrey) meets free-spirited Clementine (Winslet) and they start a rocky relationship. One day she seems not to recognise him and Barish discovers she has visited Lacuna Inc. and had all memories of him wiped. An angry Barish decides to undergo the same procedure, but begins having second thoughts.

Review
Charlie Kaufman has a problem with endings. As a pure ideas man, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation is without peer. But the third act of his Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind script gets tangled up in its own intrigue; and Malkovich also ends without conviction, limping over the line as if it has not drawn breath since that sprint start. Kaufman's problem with third acts is, in fact, so acute that it becomes the very substance of Adaptation's sour last half hour.

But just as everyone (including Kaufman) was ready to conclude that Charlie's acorns simply do not develop into full-sized trees, along comes the measured growth and glorious blossom of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, his most satisfying fantasy yet. Make no mistake, Eternal Sunshine has a really terrific third act – it's just the first two that threaten to get in the way.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind is, in fact, the second Kaufman script helmed by Michel Gondry who, like previous collaborator Spike Jonze, is an acclaimed director of music videos. Their first underrated and unseen venture was Human Nature which – setting aside the almost obligatory 'third act problems' – simply didn't boast the sugary star coating (Rhys Ifans?) that is apparently necessary to make the patented Kaufman weirdness palatable (Cusack, Cage, Clooney). Eternal Sunshine has no such problems, with both an embarrassment of riches on the bench and, front and centre, the biggest star yet to be drawn to the cult of Kaufman: Jim Carrey.

Carrey, his dramatic ego keeping that famous comic id on a tight leash, will no doubt bemuse the Bruce Almighty crowd with his most interior, least expressive role so far – Joel Barish, a character actually described as "close-mouthed". But before any self-styled sophisticates start shouting "see-ya!", Adaptation fans might find themselves equally discomfited, for Eternal Sunshine is not the headlong rush of ideas that its high-concept pitch might have you believe.

A cute but low-key and very long pre-credits sequence gives way to a potentially bewildering opening in which we share Joel's confusion at why his girlfriend is ignoring him. Once Barish discovers her visit to Lacuna Inc. and decides on a tit-for-tat strategy, the majority of the action takes place over one night in one small room and inside one man's rapidly disintegrating memory.

Part fever dream and part chamber piece, it takes a long time before any sunshine at all breaks into what is a melancholic and occasionally bitter first half. However, once Joel's subconscious decides that the procedure is a bad idea and enlists the 'memory' of Clementine (Winslet at her most winning) in a daring escape plan, the movie picks up pace and starts to explore comic areas – teenage humiliation, suppressed trauma – that play to Carrey's obvious strengths and best showcase the undoubted visual verve of Gondry. (The dazzling editing alone demands repeat viewings to unscramble.)

Even better, as Joel's situation becomes more hopeless, the tone miraculously becomes more hopeful, journeying right back to those first, deeply romantic, days with Clementine. All at once, Kaufman's master plan snaps into focus, with the true purpose of the Lacuna technical team (everyone scores in small parts, notably a disarming Dunst) revealed with an unexpected reversal.

A final, bittersweet coda seals the deal; the movie has travelled into light but the memories of darkness past can never be entirely wiped away. No movie since Annie Hall has better captured the entire arc of a relationship, and even Woody Allen stopped short of presenting the beginning and the end at the exact same time.

Verdict

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Average user rating for Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind


Spellbinding and wonderfully original,still one of my all time favourites. ... More


Posted by Lacuna1976 at 04:46, 29 March 2013 \| Report This Post



If ever there was a film that screamed "5 Stars"
This is a timeless film. The more time goes by the more it can be noticed for its originality. There was nothing like it beforehand and nothing since. I think it's slightly insulting that Empire have never given this 5 stars. ... More


Posted by xlostxjoeyx at 00:45, 06 January 2013 \| Report This Post




awesomeness ... More


Posted by harvestmoon at 13:30, 27 January 2011 \| Report This Post



Only 4?
This is a classic. A CLASSIC! Inception without the 200 million dollar plus budget. A brilliant storyline, good visuals and good acting make this a classic ... More


Posted by matthewj.white1234 at 09:30, 04 October 2010 \| Report This Post



Beautiful!
Kaufman’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an eccentric, thought-provoking love-story that explores the relationships we form with others in our memories, and the age old philosophical question of whether true love can prevail over the scientific nature of life. ... More


Posted by Emilyyy at 12:49, 31 March 2010 \| Report This Post



Good, but I didn't like it that much
Phenomonal acting from Carrey, and an engaging story, but I didn't see what was so incredible about it. I found Winslet's character to be very dislikable, and the plot plods about too much. Better than Being John Malkovich anyway. ... More


Posted by Kieran94 at 12:33, 31 January 2010 \| Report This Post



Good, but I didn't like it that much
Phenomonal acting from Carrey, and an engaging story, but I didn't see what was so incredible about it. I found Winslet's character to be very dislikable, and the plot plods about too much. Better than Being John Malkovich anyway. ... More


Posted by Kieran94 at 12:33, 31 January 2010 \| Report This Post



visually enchanting with a unique and charming love story running through it
A very unique, interesting idea is used in this film. The narrative - the distinctions between the characters' memories and the present are enchanting. Amongst this moving of time, of the mind's of the character's taking them back on journey's through their past and future.... there is a love story that you can't help but be drawn into. By the end of the film you feel that you really understand the character's and you really begin to care about what happens to them. Winslet and Carey are... More


Posted by WhiteRabbit23 at 16:55, 10 August 2009 \| Report This Post



Unique
This film is truely unique. The writing is incredible and original, and the casting sublime. Winslet is, as always, amazing, but for me, Jim Carrey's solid and heartfelt performance of Joel is the most touching, and was cruely ignored. ... More


Posted by MovieAddict247 at 16:08, 06 June 2009 \| Report This Post



A unique masterpiece.
Kaufman, just like THAT, has become a great writer. He's simply a master. ... More


Posted by nc_jj at 06:09, 25 July 2008 \| Report This Post



A unique masterpiece.
Kaufman, just like THAT, has become a great writer. He's simply a master. ... More


Posted by nc_jj at 06:09, 25 July 2008 \| Report This Post



Eternally brilliant
Amazing. Mind blowing, Moving, Funny. Human, Genius. Carrey and Winslet were robbed of Oscars. Future Classic. ... More


Posted by lynnshep at 20:29, 19 March 2008 \| Report This Post



...
One of the best films. ... More


Posted by wooz at 10:58, 08 January 2008 \| Report This Post



I just couldn't be bothered...
I understand why so many people like the film, however, I found myself struck with boredom. I sat through the entire film expecting to uncover a great, heartwarming kind of reality, not the crazed world it lived in. Its not all fairy tales with me but i had no patience for a film that couldn't control itself humanely and sanely, concluding with a rather depressing finale, it wouldn't stop crazing scenes up in a weird and psycho reminisent of the mental values during permitted memory loss. It was... More


Posted by cottoboy at 14:05, 01 September 2007 \| Report This Post



wha?
What is it about this film that people find so hard to understand. You keep saying the actings great regardless of not likeing the film. Sure acting reflects well written material, and the unltimate goal of acting is to deliver the story ina believeable way, so if anythig you can't say the acting was good adn then slate the movie. Jim Carrey does lots more than not pull a face in this movie, and there are light and funny moments that it seems like most fo you ahve made a point of not... More


Posted by BlueDragon21120 at 10:17, 13 July 2007 \| Report This Post



characterisation
the point of some of the films characters if not all of them is to allow you to see how good people can often do more to saboutage their lives without fully knowing it. Peple might find some of the roles anoying or agitating but thats part of their character and if you don't feel the characters make a 'round trip' of characterisation in this film then thats dissapointing. I feel this film is five stars from start to finish and I enjoy having characters that arn't black and white but that I can s... More


Posted by BlueDragon21120 at 10:17, 13 July 2007 \| Report This Post



Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Charlie Kaufman has to be the quirkiest mainstream screenwriter Hollywood has ever tolerated. His films are often completely insane, but always startlingly original, and that's what makes them such compulsive viewing. The trailer suggests a film that will envelop the viewer in a whirlwind of emotions. And for the first 20 minutes at least, it does, so captivating is Joel and Clementine's first meeting. Only in the second act does the film begin to falter slightly, but it's back up to speed... More


Posted by kevin stanley at 21:33, 23 October 2006 \| Report This Post



fascinating
This film is wonderful, from the beginning to the end ... it begins so beautiful with the introduction of our 2 main characters... then it all becomes a bit hard to follow, which is a really good thing, because it makes us feel a whole lot more like Joel, cause he too, doesn't seem to have a clue what to do and what to think... the ending of the movie is very very good and surprising.. this film just makes me feel so good everytime I see it, its a story about love, hidden in a complex, beautiful... More


Posted by Jeehde2 at 12:15, 16 April 2006 \| Report This Post




A wonderfully affecting film about the value of memories. ... More


Posted by Cujo at 13:15, 30 March 2006 \| Report This Post



true original
This is one of the most imAginatve films of its time.Say what you will about the covoluted plotetc.The editing and cinematography are superb.Kate Winslet acts totally against type as does Jim Carey. It is a fim that deals with memory as much as relationships and uses great cinematic craft to achieve its ends. ... More


Posted by childishpete at 12:26, 27 February 2006 \| Report This Post




I can't even put to words how much I love this film... ... More


Posted by jeanne at 20:51, 12 January 2006 \| Report This Post



RE: Written by a Blank Mind?
Imagine my joy when I read this: L: directorscut When a character five minutes into this film declares "Sand is overrated" I knew I was going to dislike this film. Here we have Jim Carrey playing his "look at me, I'm moody!" character. His girlfriend is Kate Winslet and he has enough money to spend on the latest scientific operations. And all he does is moan and moan and moan some more about how awful his life is. GET SOME THERAPY YOU SAD SAD PERSON. GAIN SOME DAMN PERSPECTIVE... More


Posted by martinsmith93 at 02:07, 03 January 2006 \| Report This Post

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless MindAs weird and wonderful as ever

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
As weird and wonderful as ever