 "The constancy of love" | 2009-09-30 |
| - Reviewed By jrye5 |
| This is one of my favorite love stories of all time and to my mind one of the 10 best films of the last 20 years. Be forewarned. It has a quirky premise and characters. The heroine, Clementine, played by Kate Winslett, is on the outs with her lover, Joel, played by Jim Carey. She impulsively decides to try out a new procedure which deletes unwanted memories. She has the memory of her relationship with Joel erased. When Joel finds out, he decides to have his memories of her erased. Most of the movie concerns the night of this erasure, when the unconcious Joel fights desperately to maintain the memory of his lost love. For such an outlandish premise, the movie seems very realistic to me. It poignantly portrays how constant love is and how we cherish our memories of even failed relationships. I don't want to say much more because I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone but, suffice it to say, that this film wonderfully portrays the complexity and permanance of love. It also calls to mind for me the French quotation, which loosely translated says that "the heart has its reasons which reason cannot understand". One final word to those of you who are not fans of Jim Carey. I am not a great fan of Jim Carey in his comic roles. The Jim Carey in this movie seems to be another actor altogether. More that anything else,he seemed like an ordinary guy with a broken heart. Highly recommended. |
| |
 "Missed it by THAT much..." | 2009-09-01 |
| - Reviewed By somedamnedguy |
This is another very good movie that could have been great. Visually inventive, well-written, and mostly well-acted. It does require your full attention because it plays out of sequence. The credits don't even start for ten minutes or so after the movie has started. Despite the flaws it's one of my favorite movies.
The movie involves a near-future where memories can be erased. Jim Carrey's character finds out the hard way his girlfriend (Winslet) has erased him from her memory. He then goes to have the procedure done to forget her. In the process of forgetting her, he decides the memories are worth the pain of losing her, and he tries to foil the process.
Again, nearly all of the actors are excellent in this movie: Mark Ruffalo, Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, David Cross, and Kirsten Dunst. I've always found Elijah Wood annoying, but since that's the essence of his character, he was well-cast this time. The weak link: Jim Carrey. Carrey's a brilliant comic actor, but he hasn't got the chops for drama. Even as he plays a sad sack who defines flattened affect, he misses.
|
| |
| "Beautiful, Funny, Clever, Heartfelt...In a Word "Great"" | 2009-08-16 |
| - Reviewed By maskirovka77 |
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" still holds --five years after its release-- a triple honor in my view. It's the most beautiful love story I have ever seen or read. It's the movie that has caused me think the most about love and relationships. And hands down, it's just the best movie I've seen in my life to date. I love it enough that I almost wish that a company like Lacuna really did exist, so I could erase my memory of having seen it and have the joy of watching it again for the first time. It's that good.
But the funny thing is that I might not have bothered to see it when it came out. When I first saw the trailer for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I found myself wondering if it was another Jim Carrey comedic vehicle in which he'd overact and effectively ruin any humor I might find in it. Part of this suspicion was driven by the fact that music for trailer (which was not used in the film) was a extremely cheerful song called "Mr. Blue Sky."
But my curiosity was piqued by the film and the premise of memory erasure, and when I looked at an early draft of the shooting script that was online I saw pretty soon that it wasn't some unsubtle comedy but something a lot deeper...in fact, I wondered if seeing might even be a downer given the rather bleak ending that the script had (where Joel and Clementine were "doomed" to endlessly meet, fall in love, fall out of love, and have their memories erased."
But I decided to take a chance and see it, and I'm very glad I did because it was a wonderful film...I feel about it the same way that some people feel about "Casablanca" or "Gone with the Wind." Why did I like it so much? I came up with eight reasons:
1. Kate Winslet as Clementine: I salute Kate Winslet and thank her for bringing to life a female character I instantly fell in love with.
2. Jim Carrey as Joel: He did a great job and showed that he's more than a clown in depicting the character, who was sort of an everyman whose shoes I could see myself in.
3. Beautiful Story: It was all about love, loss, memory with tenderness, passion, humor, and insight. The scenes of the happy moments Joel and Clementine had are touching and totally authentic.
4. Fantastic Premise: The premise of memory erasure and how that might work is just loaded with philosophical and moral questions that are well worth pondering.
5. Ingenious Use of Camera and Special Effects: The movie is full of clever uses of the camera by Michel Gondry and none of it is overdone. I see something new every time I watch it.
6. Solid Supporting Cast: Tom Wilkinson, Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst, and Elijah Woods all made their characters memorable and sympathetic (even Woods as Patrick who would have easily come across as REALLY creepy but instead comes across as just pitiable).
7. Beautiful, Real, and Upbeat Ending: It would have been such a downer if the movie had ended the way Charlie Kaufman originally wrote it, and the idea that Joel and Clementine would have just fallen into each others' arms after the enormity of what had happened had struck home would have been unrealistic. The idea that they were going to give things "another go round" was realistic but hopeful.
8. Beautiful Images: There are many in the movie, in particular Joel and Clementine on the frozen Charles, a pensive Clementine pondering her relationship with Joel, and the scene in the bookstore where the books gradually fade to white as the memory vanishes.
It's an excellent two disk collection of materials. About the only thing I did not like was the music video by Polyphonic Spree which puts animated mouths on the characters in various scenes of the movie...it comes across as creepy. There are a lot of deleted scenes included as well, which make interesting watching.
This is definitely the DVD set to have if you loved "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." I just wish now that they would release a special "Director's Cut" that incorporates some of the deleted scenes.
I could go on and on about what a great movie this is, but I think I've said enough. If you want a simple formulaic romantic comedy with glamorous leads and a totally predictable outcome, don't bother with "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." But if you want a film that has tenderness, beauty, humor, and is unbelievably creative with a "real" ending that is hopeful and not synthetic, by all means rent, borrow, or buy this movie. |
| |
| "An intelligent take on an old genre" | 2009-07-18 |
| - Reviewed By dsbaik |
This movie is - as commented by many others - brilliant.
The scenario is strangely wacky; the main character (Joel) volunteers to have his memory erased of a destructive relation ship with his ex-girlfriend, Clementine, after finding out that she has done the same to him.
The basic premise seems to be bizarre but the execution - the distinctive supporting characters, the slow methodical pacing that adds weight to each scene, etc - the execution weaves a breathtaking tapestry that adds a complexity each time you watch the movie.
Others have said that this movie is a romantic comedy; without giving away the plot of the movie, I don't know if that's the case by the end of the movie but I can't help but hope that it's certainly the case for them.
Watch this movie with a loved one. This is certainly a breath-taking, though-provoking movie. Very highly recommended. |
| |
| "Well, technically speaking, the operation is brain damage" | 2009-07-10 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2PBV1899CX3TE |
In every script that Charlie Kaufman writes there always seems to be a very twisted mind game as the premise; and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is no exception. Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) and Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) have just gone through a messy break up. Clementine, being rather impulsive (to say the least), undergoes a pseudo medical treatment to erase all memories of Joel Barish, so she can get on with her life. Joel discovers what she has done and opts for the same treatment. Somehow, in sifting through their memories, they rediscover what made them fall in love in the first place. Herein lays the twisted mind game that Kaufman is so fond of. Joel and Clementine must battle the memory erasers to hold onto each other, and the battle royale is all taking place inside Joel's head.
Kaufman is aided and abetted here by director Michel Gondry -- a visual genius. He realizes Kaufman's vision with a variety of special effects, like forced perspective and stop action. Nothing computer generated here, it is all done with clever manipulation of the camera. Michel has really brought Charlie's nutso ideas to life, and no matter how far fetched, it all has the gritty look and feel of reality.
In a role reversal, you could say that Kate Winslet is playing the Jim Carrey part, while Jim is rather reserved and understated -- the usual sort of Winslet role. Joel, always with three days of stubble on his face, pours his feelings into a diary and whimsical sketches rather than blabbing them out loud. Joel Barish is a projection of Charlie Kaufman, and I can really see him in Jim Carrey's introverted character creation. Who issued the restraining order?
There is also a lot of underground cartoonist Robert Crumb in Barish, and some of the scenes where Joel is reliving his childhood could have been lifted directly from Crumb's comic book memoirs. Joel is reading an R. Crumb comic in one scene.
-------------
Clementine: What are you, NUTS?
Joel: It's been suggested.
=====================
But Joel keeps all his craziness locked inside, whereas Clementine spills it out for all to see. She dyes her hair crazy colors, like Blue Ruin or Agent Orange, and it all matches her clothes -- and the drinks she mixes. She is high maintenance to the max, and she tells him so in no uncertain terms. Soon after meeting she has Joel breaking and entering.
---------
Clementine: Look, I'm sorry if I came off a little nutso, I'm not really.
Joel: That's okay; I really didn't think you were.
===================
Joel is always very polite and nice, and nice is something that Clementine hates -- or at least she thinks she does, until Joel starts to grow on her. Clementine pushes Joel to experience life to the fullest, to get out of his shell. Clementine has Joel out on thin ice -- figuratively and literally. They are laying together out on the frozen River Charles, a central metaphor of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
------------------------------------
Joel: I could die right now, Clem. I'm just... happy. I've never felt that before. I'm just exactly where I want to be.
=============================================
Carrey and Winslet make a great team, with Carrey letting Winslet carry the film, while Jim is the anchor. Kate Winslet is spectacular here. I enjoyed her here much more than watching her go down on the Titanic.
Also contributing to the success of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind were Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood as Stan and Patrick, the technicians who perform the memory erasing procedure; Tom Wilkinson as Dr. Howard Mierzwiak, the inventor of the technique; and Kirsten Dunst as Mary the receptionist. Stan and Patrick are The Two Stooges of pseudo medical procedures, and Dr. Howard has a suitably reassuring bedside manner -- but you wonder just whose bedside he's been at. "Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard. Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard."
--------------------
Joel: Is there any risk of brain damage?
Dr. Howard Mierzwiak: Well, technically speaking, the operation is brain damage, but it's on a par with a night of heavy drinking. Nothing you'll miss.
================================
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is also on a par with a night of heavy drinking -- just as much fun but without the hangover, regrets, or DUIs. Though the plot is convoluted, the viewer should have no problem following it. The visual story telling style of director Michel Gondry really pulls you in. Repeated viewings will no doubt reward with additional revelations. Kate Winslet, Jim Carrey, and the rest of the cast really give it their all. It is a very funny film that also has a lot to say about the nature of love, memory, and how much we need each other, even if we are all a little crazy.
--------------------------------------
Clementine: You know me, I'm impulsive.
Joel: That's what I love about you.
==================================================
Synecdoche New York (2008) (written by Charlie Kaufman)
The Reader (2008) .... Kate Winslet was Hanna Schmitz
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (2008) .... Kirsten Dunst was Alison Olsen
Adaptation (Superbit Collection) (2002) (screenplay by Charlie Kaufman)
Quills (2000) .... Kate Winslet was Madeleine 'Maddy' LeClerc
Being John Malkovich (1999) (written by Charlie Kaufman)
Man on the Moon (1999) (also as Tony Clifton) .... Jim Carrey was Andy Kaufman
Hideous Kinky (1998) .... Kate Winslet was Julia
The Cable Guy (Full Screen) (1996) .... Jim Carrey was The Cable Guy and David Cross was Sales Manager
Dumb and Dumber (1994) .... Jim Carrey was Lloyd Christmas
-----------------
Joel: I can't see anything that I don't like about you.
Clementine: But you will! But you will. You know, you will think of things. And I'll get bored with you and feel trapped because that's what happens with me.
Joel: Okay.
Clementine: [pauses] Okay.
==================================== |
| |
| "Eternal Sunshine DVD" | 2009-06-26 |
| - Reviewed By User: AGWAERNRB7OJ6 |
| This movie is wonderful. Watch it and tell your own story. I was so moved by Jim Carrey's acting, he was a very serious actor in this one. Enjoy, as I did!!! |
| |
Expedited Available
![Lost in Translation [HD DVD]](product_images/4932000/4932378_thumb.jpg)
