Charlie Kaufman has created his masterpiece. Mixing palpable emotional longing with his standard
esoterica, "Eternal Sunshine" envelops the audience in a fully believable love story that's also a
beautiful rumination on loss and regret. With performances and production craft firing on full
cylinders, this is one head trip that won't soon be forgotten.
What seems clear from the outset is that Kaufman's words are a perfect match for director Michel
Gondry's visual style. To that end, the helmer's genius-level work on music videos is a constant
testament to his mobius strip-like tendencies. In clips like the Foo Fighters' "Everlong" and the
Chemical Brothers' "Let Forever Be," two parallel tales -- one grounded in reality and one taking
place in a dream world -- transgress and intersect until a measure of balance is achieved. Likewise
in "Eternal Sunshine," the inner workings of one man's subconscious become gradually deleted as
outside forces threaten his sense of memory and companionship.
We first meet Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) as he decides to ditch work on a whim. The fiery and
outgoing Clementine (Kate Winslet) gets his attention on the train back, and soon the two begin an
unlikely courtship; she's fire in a bottle and he's an introverted recluse. But this is just the beginning
(or is it the end?) of the story, as we learn that after a messy breakup, Clementine decided to
undergo an experimental procedure that has her memories of Joel erased from her mind. In an
impulsive fit of one-up-manship, Joel chooses to have the same deletion done in his brain -- only to
realize, as his memories of Clementine are disappearing before his (and our) eyes, that the pain of
this loss is far worse than he could've imagined.
And so Kaufman again wisps us literally inside another person's mind with wildly imaginative
results.
But what differentiates "Eternal Sunshine" from Kaufman's greatest successes "Being John
Malkovich" and "Adaptation" is the level of emotional connection to the characters. Though we
pined for Maxine and felt empathy for Donald, the characters of Joel and Clementine are two
full-bodied individuals with distinct romantic chemistry and often clashing paths of discourse.
Their attraction is believeable, their dialogue is refreshingly truthful, and their sense of hurt is
universal enough to touch anyone who's ever lost a lover, a close friend...even a pet.
More so than any other current music video director (perhaps except for colleague Spike Jonze),
Gondry invests his material with intricately small details that weave a dense fabric. Often the layers
are piled upon each other so thickly that it takes multiple viewings to fully grasp a complete picture.
This, again, works well in tandem with the eccentricites of Kaufman's writing. Joel doesn't just
live in a drab apartment; he sleeps on a couch-bed. Clementine doesn't just have colorful hair; she
dyes it four different times. A messy office. Snow on the beach. Blank books in a library. A
mysterious car dent. A dead bird. It's all part of a fantastical tableaux -- a maniacal funhouse
where spirits pop out at every turn.
Yet despite the surreal special effects and frequent flights of fancy, Joel and Clementine's
relationship is constantly front-and-center. Metaphysical questions -- Is loss more unbearable than
the risk of love? How important are memories in defining oneself? -- pepper the story like
explosions in a Jerry Bruckheimer film. The tender performances of Carrey and Winslet finally
hold it all together in award-caliber turns; who would've thought that the pair would be the
millennium's first great romantic leads?
Kaufman may have yet to fully crack the human psyche, but he takes an astounding leap forward
with "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." A devious blend of romance, sci-fi, comedy and
drama, it's an eye-opening digression on irreplaceable love.
Director: Michel Gondry
Screened: March 19
Grade: A
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