Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ***** (2004, Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst) – Classic Movie Review 511

My funny Valentine! Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a brilliant art movie in the mainstream.

Jim Carrey goes all posh and serious in director Michel Gondry’s clever and dazzling if a shade baffling 2004 cult comedy Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It won an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Screenplay for Charlie Kaufman (screenplay/story), Michel Gondry (story) and Pierre Bismuth (story). Kate Winslet was Oscar nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.

Carrey plays Joel Barish, a guy whose girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet), has forgotten him. He finds it has something to do with doctor Tom Wilkinson’s weird memory-erasing organisation, so Carrey plans to get his memories wiped too.

Carrey is very good indeed in a romantic fantasy role that profitably stops him larking around for once and allows him to do some real acting, and Winslet is entirely capable and fine, if maybe not outstanding. If the movie perhaps need not tax anyone’s mind too much, it certainly engages the imagination and emotions, and ends up being the memorable, unique experience that was intended.

It is a slight problem that all the medical-team content about the memory-erasing organisation is far more interesting than the main love story, which is essentially rather soppy. This simply makes you want to see more of Wilkinson, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo and Kirsten Dunst and their part of the story, thus unbalancing the movie.

Nonetheless, with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s witty script ideas, Ellen Kuras’s snazzy cinematography and the imaginative editing, there are more than just flashes of brilliance here.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind actually is brilliant. At the very least this must be counted imaginative and challenging film-making, bringing the art movie into the mainstream.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is directed by Michel Gondry, it runs 108 minutes, is a production by Blue Ruin, Anonymous Content, This Is That and Focus, is written by Charlie Kaufman, based on a story by Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry and Pierre Bismuth, is shot by Ellen Kuras, is produced by Anthony Bregman and Steve Gollin, is scored by Jon Brion and designed by Dan Leigh.

Also in the cast are Jane Adams as Carrie, David Cross, Ryan Whitney, Debbon Ayer, Gerry Robert Byrne, Thomas Jay Ryan, Deirdre O’Connell, Paulie Litt [Paul Litowski], Amir Ali Said and Brian Price.

© Derek Winnert 2013 Classic Movie Review 511

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Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).