Community Archived Reviews Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
KDHX Film Review - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Directed by Michel Gondry
Reviewed by Diane Carson
Writer Charlie Kaufman grabbed a lot of attention with Adaptation, Being John Malkovich, and Human Nature. He showed his innovative ideas and sprung narrative organization. He’s maintained his form in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a circuitous plot inviting consideration of a seductive, science-fiction idea. What if we could selectively eliminate the memories causing the greatest pain? That’s what Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) initiates after he learns that one-time girlfriend Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) has done the same—deleted the distressing remembrances of her affection for Joel. The sci-fi business is called Lacuna as performed by Dr. Howard Mierzwiak, in a savvy performance by Tom Wilkinson. His staff played by Kirsten Dunst as Mary, Mark Ruffalo as Stan, and Elijah Wood as Patrick are not professional role models, and as Joel resists the procedure, things get out of control.
The title comes from an Alexander Pope poem recounted in the narrative by the doctor’s receptionist who, it turns out, has her own peculiar story. And ironically, director Michel Gondry uses less sunshine than desirable, creating a longing for what he withholds. As with Billy Pilgrim in Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, Joel has come unstuck in time or certainly entertains the idea of time manipulation. And as in Adaptation, there’s joy in jumping among characters and figuring how the pieces fit, including a flashback to Joel as a child buffaloed by his mother. And a visit to Clementine’s work at Barnes & Noble plays with erasure as titles and books disappear. The pacing, the music, and the performances by Winslet and Carrey buoy this tantalizing play with memory; the disconnected, and no doubt faulty, ways we all remember; and the desire to forget some experiences. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind touches a philosophical and emotional nerve here. As in the best science fiction, it makes its premise both enjoyable and revealing. At area theaters.
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