A film that takes love seriously

Rating: 10/10 (11 July 2008)

Most films about love and all that entails are wrapped up in a nice neat bow and handed to us like processed food. We know what it's made of, we waste no time in reviewing its contents; rather, we consume it and forget it within moments, hungry for something more. Such is that way of regular, made-for-morons film-making.
This film is in every way a wake-up call for viewers and filmmakers alike.
Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are the main stars of the film. At first I was mildly curious about their characters, a little irritated with their quirks...and then they grew on me. As the film progresses---or, thanks to Kaufman's twisted sense of time and existence, regresses backwards---the characters' layers are peeled away and we see all the good and bad things about them. The nitty-gritty fights. The needless and harsh retorts. The bitchiness. The giggles. The hugs and the love.
So too do we see the intricate connections between them and their surrounding characters, and the twisted tales they bring to the table only enrich the whole story.
Something about this film makes me want to smile and cry at the same time. Let's just say that Kaufman's outlook on love is grounded in a world of let-downs and redemption. Is there hope? Or is ignorance truly bliss? Watch the film and I dare you not to feel enlightened afterwards. Kudos to Michel Gondry also, for although Kaufman is the voice of the film, Gondry delivers the look and feel of it all with childlike excitement and boundless abandon.