'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'

'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' is unlike any other film i have ever seen. It is a thing of beauty, a culmination of the work of numerous artistic geniuses, the craft and emotional laden words in Charlie Kaufman's screenplay, the surrealistic cinematography and entirely unique visual look in the shape of Michel Gondry, as the auteur at the helm, and, of course, Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet as the two leads, Joel Barisch and Clementine Kruczynski (KRA-ZINCH-SKI), both going against their typical roles and crafting two utterly belivable, empathetic, humanistic and fallable characters as you are ever likely to see in any film.

This is unlike any other film that I have reviewed for this blog in that I am watching this film for about the fifth or sixth time, and am reviewing it accordingly. This is one of my favourite films ever made, possibly breaching the prestigous top three, and i think alot of that has to do with the complexity and multi-layering present within the film, much of which originated from Kaufman's pen, a man that is renowned for his nigh on perfect scripts that contain such of the man's intelligence and emotion and surrealism that it doesn't take much craftmanship to bring them directly to the screen, they are so alive and vibrant upon the page. Of course when this is teamed with the winning team of Gondry, Carrey and Winslet, the magic of Kaufman is only enhanced, which i feel may explain why 'Eternal Sunshine' is the most critically and commercially acclaimed of Kaufman's films. Although, despite my seemingly geeky enfatuation with Kaufman here I have not enjoyed his other works that much, despite appreciating his craft, i found 'Being John Malkovich' to just be odd, rather directionless and with no real protagonist to root for. I feel by grounding 'Eternal Sunshine's' more science fiction-y elements with what is a very true and honest love story is what makes it work so wonderfully.

The sensibilities of both writer and director ensure that this film is unlike any romantic comedy you have ever seen. There is a stationary medium shot about twelve minutes into the film, after Joel and Clementine meet for the 'first' time that epitomises the gorgeousness of this film, as our protagonist walks away from Clem's apartment, buoyed up by his budding romantic feelings, a slight snow fall beginning to gently patter the pavement, a soft and incredibly sweet song playing in the background. The music carries us through into the next scene as Joel calls Clementine, softly speaking into the phone, nervously, a genuine smile of happiness crossing his face, and it is just beautiful. Those few minutes just portray romance to me. The mastery of Kaufman and Gondry manage to present the wonderful feeling of love in just a few short minutes of film and that is what instantly hooks you, emotionally, as an audience member to the fate of these characters.

As I said before though, the film is brutally honest about romance and following the opening sequence (which culminates in the heart wrenching title sequence appearing eighteen (!) minutes into the film) Kaufman and gondry proceed to deconstruct the romance between the two main characters, taking us through their painful descent into heart ache, to the point where the impulsive Clementine decides to have Joel erased from her memory, an action that propels the film forward, as we find ourselves taken through the many memories shared between the couple, both good and bad, all bringing us closer to the characters, Joel in particular for me, and all presenting love in a fashion that you would never see in mainstream cinema. I cannot think of any other film, or play, or piece of literature that presents love in such a way that generates such a strong emotional reaction from me and actually shows you how painful and how fantastic it can be. Carrey and Winslet's performances have alot to do with this, having a natural chemistry that without, would have ensured the failure of the film. Carrey's opening voice over made me fall in love with this film almost instantly, as he just sounds so lost and so empty, quietly mumbling his thoughts, which all say so much about his state of mind when not with Clementine, my favourite being;
'Sand is overrated. It's just tiny little rocks.'

I feel like anything I write within this review could not possibly do the film justice, as it is itself such a beautiful marriage of language, visuals and sound that mere words could not recreate the profound effect that it has on me, every time that I watch it. This is a reminder of why I love films and find the medium so fascinating which, contrasted with 'Inglorious Basterds' which i said very similar things about, shows the wide spectrum of the possibilites of cinema and how magic can be crafted in very different ways. I perhaps should have reviewed this later on, getting a few poorly made films between this and the review below so I don't look like I am distributing the high class of five stars too frequently but, this is one of my favourite films and so it is receiving FIVE STARS OUT OF FIVE. If you haven't seen this film already and class yourself as a lover of cinema then i urge you to do so, and if you haven't got a tear in your eye at at least one point within 'Eternal Sunshine', then you must have a heart of stone.