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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Widescreen Edition) Customer Reviews (40 - 42 of 42 Reviews)

A deeply moving cinematic masterpiece
A beautiful, poetic, thought-provoking film. Top-notch cast, strikingly original story, and gorgeous cinematography. Jim Carrey continues to amaze me, and Kate Winslet is superb. Kirsten Dunst needs more films like this and less Spider-man sequels, and Mark Ruffalo is in top form.Tom Wilkinson is a treat as always. A truly wonderful film that is definitely not for all tastes. For one, it will get you thinking and discussing it afterward. Some people just won't get it, others won't want to, but for whoever does, it couldn't get any better. See it! It's near perfect storytelling. A solid A.

Clearing the Mind...
Eternal Sunshine is a complete bizarre trip. Unlike most Hollywood movies, this film requires you to bring your brain in with you and not leave it at the front door. Director Michel Gondry has delivered an intense emotionally draining film that falls nothing short of brilliant.
Jim Carrey stars as Joel, a lonely quiet man who ponders through life with little hope or desire. This all changes when he meets a crazy up-beat woman named Clementine, played by Kate Winslet. Joel is stunned to discover that his girlfriend has had the memories of their tumultuous relationship erased. Out of desperation, he contacts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), to have Clementine removed from his own memory. But as Joel's memories begin to disappear one by one he begins to realize the fantastic times they had together. Joel then attempts to escape the procedure from deep within the recesses of his brain while Dr. Howard and his associates, (Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo), chase him through this maze.
Completely original, Eternal Sunshine will have you watching, questioning, and absorbing all its film aspects while intrigued by its stimulating story. Jim Carrey gives one of his best, if not the best, performance of his career. Kate Winslet is equally convincing as the out-going girlfriend Clementine, who is wild and all over the place. It's almost as if the two characters were written for the wrong person. Ms. Winslet's Clementine has the zany attributes that are perfect for Mr. Carrey's style and wit. Vice-versa for Mr. Carrey's character toward Ms. Winslet. But what we are witnessing here are two actors who give performances that are not the norm for them and the result is phenomenal.
This film is a joy to watch. Beautiful cinematography is shown throughout the entire film. The elephant parade scene is a dazzling marvel to observe. I was reminded of the intriguing cinematography used in the cities of Japan from Lost in Translation. They were both shot without tripods, both real and full of eye candy. The music is perfect as it captures the anomalous tone the film gives. Jon Brion is slowly getting fame as one of the great film composers of our time. You may remember his other quirky and offbeat music sufficiently used in the extraordinary "Punch-Drunk Love." I found myself almost in tears at just how gorgeous some of the scenes are with the music. In one scene, Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are sitting in a room when all the sudden rain pours in flooding the entire room. They began to smile and playfully flirt with one another in a way true lovers do while Mr. Brion adds a touching delicate piano playing in the background. There are many scenes like this that touches the viewer and enables them to grasp and understand the true love and chemistry these characters have for each other even though they are complete opposites.
The extremely talented Charlie Kaufman writes the screenplay. Mr. Kaufman has written other strange but compelling scripts for the movies "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation." It boggles me to understand where and how he comes up with these uncommon but astonishing stories. We are seeing a genius at work, providing us with stories we wouldn't normally see or think of with a script that gives lines that can be well executed by its actors and actresses.
Unlike "Adaptation" or "Being John Malkovich", Spike Jonze does not direct this move. Director Michael Gondry gives another try after working with Mr. Kaufman on the not-so successful "Human Nature." Mr. Gondry has proved successful this time as he allows his actors and actresses to be unique and abnormal while staying true and real at the same time.
If there was one thing I did not like about this film, it would have to be the ending. I was so disappointed that after watching a film that seemed to want to break all standard forms of a Hollywood movie would succumb to a Hollywood ending. But don't let this confuse you. I loved this movie and if I had to pick a flaw that would be it.
This is a strong film with a peculiar theme that asks us to question if what we consider the right thing to do to help others is really helpful indeed? Dr. Mierzwiak creates a system to help others by erasing painful memories from their brains. But is this really helping people? Later in the film, Kirsten Dunst's character makes a decision in trying to help fellow patients that proves just to add more problems. What we consider helpful may be disastrous to others.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a must-see for anyone dieing to see a film that is challenging and completely different from the norm of most movies. Finally, a film that ironically is about the human brain while at the same time requiring the viewer to use his or her brain in the process.

BRILLIANT CONCEPT, SOMEWHAT MUFFLED BY GIDDY SCREENPLAY
One cannot help falling in love with Kaufman's scripts for their sheer boldness and eccentricity, from John Malkovich to Adaptation.

The "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is yet another maddeningly brilliant concept that'll make you sit up and watch, because it is scarily plausible and poignantly thought-provoking. Despite its psychological underpinnings, it is ultimately a take on love and how technology promises to break, mend, twist, and surprise our hearts and lives.

That description itself is reason enough for you to pick up a copy of the film as soon as you can and watch it! But unfortunately, the esoteric theme of memory erasure is dramatized with a 'different' but often unbecomingly scattershot screenplay.

In the end, I feel that the film comes across as being so self-absorbed in wowing viewers with a mozaic of doozy possibilities that it fails to fully connect with the audience. I would have done the movie differently but then what do I know.

I recommend this movie, at least once for sure, but just manage your expectations and enjoy the ride.

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