Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst and Tom Wilkinson
Directed by: Michel Gondry
Written by: Charlie Kaufman
Jim Carrey Interview
Kate Winslet Interview
Charlie Kaufman Interview
Soundtrack Review

Buy it

Bluntly speaking? Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is remarkably intelligent, wildly fresh and impeccably cast. It's flawless brilliant entertainment. And by its delightful end, Eternal will have captured you - heart, mind and soul.

Story goes…. Joel (Jim Carrey) awakens to find his head throbbing and a feeling his world is missing a little something. He can't quite put his finger on it…but he knows something's askew.

Having "one of those days," Joel decides to ditch work - on a feeling - and train it out to a summer spot in the dead of winter. (cue Cupid's harp->) There Joel meets a wacky yet pre-destined girl named Clementine (Kate Winslet). Some how he senses Clem's the girlstuff made of his deepest dreams.

But his new-love joy is short lived as he soon finds himself a byproduct within a surreal world of cutting edge science. Joel's about to learn he's been erased…literally. His ex-love has had a procedure in which a crew of specialists "zap" out memories from the brain. Memories - like ex-boyfriends - of the client's choice.

Now, a in a bit of a snit, he decides he too shall undergo the same brain wiping and 86 her from his mind - So there to infinity (<-stick out tongue here please)!

But as the mind-zapping crew (Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, and Kirsten Dunst) set up shop in his apartment, the battle between Joel's heart and mind begins. Sure, things went sour between him and Clementine, but to erase her completely? The heart begs, "Stop!" While the mind responds by replaying a few screaming matches between them that usually ended in those bitter tell-tale words and slamming doors. Joel decides the pain of her memory is worth it. He decides he's changed his mind and wants to stop the erasing.

But it's too late. He's already unconscious, plugged in (to a machine resembling a doctored aluminum strainer with flashy lights that go ping) and incapable of actually speaking.

Since he cannot get the crew's attentions he decides to run around his mind and hide Clementine from their ray gun of eradication. If Joel can "store" her till dawn, he will beat the ray and be able to remember her. If not, he'll awake and have no recollection they were ever together. So the two "thoughts" (with us in tow), trip the light fantastic all around his subconscious.

Genius? Oh yes indeedy. It's an unbelievably intricate yarn filled with the importance of love and romance within all the usual relationship trauma. Its multi-leveled subplots draw you in completely and ultimately leave you with that fuzzy feeling so rare in film viewing today.

The cast is stellar. Of particular note is the film's version of Jim Carrey. Be warned Ace or Bruce fans, this time around the handsome marzipan faced ass ventriloquist hasn't infused a snort or guffaw within a mile of his touching, subtle performance. He's delicate yet powerful, raw yet full of mental punch; edibly delectable like thinly sliced Ahi tar tar artistically arranged on a fine porcelain dish and accented with a shaved mélange of colorful bits.

Speaking of edible…Cutie cupieberry mantart Mark Ruffalo takes the phrase puppy-eyed techno geek to another level here as Stan. Sporting what can only be called a pompadour, this talented dish of yum nails sci-fi retro geek with a heart. And Elijiah Wood beams as Stan's apprentice Patrick. Pat likes to use client's personal memories as his personal dating service. It's still hard to look into Elijiah's big blue eyes and think ill of him - but yeah, he's a sleaztack here.

Thespian extravaganza Kate Winslet shows us all there's nothing she cannot do. Here she flips your image of her as the soft-spoken girlygirl with brains on its head - abruptly - and "against the type" casting has never been a more enjoyable journey. Watching her whirlwind about displaying her comedic timing, beside an introverted huggable Carrey, was devilish fun.

The film's writer, Charlie Kaufman, is one of the most brilliant storytellers out there. Here his script is worked again by avante gard director le laquirk Michel Gondry (he did Kaufman's Human Nature too). Gondry works the material like a majestic ordained puppet master. Everything melds into a fine tapestry of visual art while maintaining a truly romantic center. Buy it

Snack recommendation: Chicken drumsticks and whiskey

DVD Features:
Available subtitles: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1), Commentary by director Michel Gondry and writer Charlie Kaufman
Commentary by director Michel Gondry and writer Charlie Kaufman

A Look Inside the Mind: The Making-of ESOTSM featurette

A conversation with Jim Carrey and Michel Gondry - they get blunt.

Deleted scenes: Addicts rejoice!

Lacuna infomercial: Brilliant...Just Brilliant

Music video The Polyphonic Spree "Light and Day"