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>> ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004)

Starring: Kate Winslett, Jim Carrey, Elijah Wood and more ...
Director: Michael Gondry
Genre: Comedy




"eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" takes place in a five-minutes-from-now future where the brokenhearted and haunted can have their memories erased. clementine (kate winslet) went to lacuna, inc. after her breakup with joel (jim carrey) to have their years together expunged; discovering this, an enraged joel goes to lacuna and wants to do the same. "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" stands out among the distinguished crowd of successes in the field. it doesn't just have an inventive premise, a knockout cast (including tom wilkinson, elijah wood, mark ruffalo and kirsten dunst as the memory-erasers of lacuna) and a weird, wicked sense of humor. it's also possessed of an immensely inventive structure, and director michael gondry builds an unforgettable mindscape by mixing cutting-edge computer effects with the kind of camera trickery that's as old as the movie camera itself.

this is a brilliant movie. i've been a fan of charlie kaufman's work, but he has really outdone himself this time. the characters are well fleshed out, the story is extremely captivating and keeps the viewer guessing and thinking constantly. watching this film, one can't help having an introspective experience. the effects and direction are outstanding for this film as well, expanding upon ideas i've seen in other films, but using them much better (a scene in a bookstore comes to mind...or vanishes from it, rather). a great film about relationships, and a great film about happiness in our lives. i would recommend this movie to anyone looking to see a movie that will impact their emotions effectively.

jim carrey -- smeary, worn down, neurotic and warm without being sentimental -- gives the best performance he's given us since "the truman show". don't expect his famous rubber-face joke coming from him in this movie, but his performance was just outstanding as a serious cast. kate winslet delivers another of her rich, real portraits of a woman whose character has a well-rounded mix of flaws and miracles. for a film that takes place mostly within a protagonist's cranium, "eternal sunshine" is also a remarkably broad film; wilkinson, ruffalo, wood and dunst all have their own things to remember and forget, and their experiences drive the narrative and add color and shading to kaufman's bigger themes even as they supply laughs.

with its hall-of-mirrors approach to reality, "eternal sunshine" is pretty identifiable as being in keeping with kaufman's other scripts. director gondry may lack the capacity for lunatic bravado that better-known collaborator spike jonze showed in "being john malkovich" and "adaptation", but gondry is a remarkably talented visual stylist. a sequence in which joel's memories of the beach house where he met clementine are erased while he stumbles through sea foam that used to be carpeting and watches walls crack and reveal a night sky is spooky, touching and surreal; the personal interactions of the lacuna staff are also handled with a graceful directorial touch. "eternal sunshine" mixes ideas and emotions to welcome, lasting effect, and it's that blend of warm-hearted romanticism and brain-bent lunacy that makes it one of a must-see movie of the year.

ps: just fyi, the setting is in new york, mostly in long island. however, lacuna was seen located in queens and i saw the familiar area when dunst went over to her car when she found out she had done the procedure.. and that was just a couple of blocks away from my apartment. i wonder.. why didn't i see the shooting? oh, that's right.. it was while i was at work in manhattan.. damn!

>> rated by :: sLesTa | [ ]

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