Jim Carrey's best

Rating: 8/10 (16 September 2016)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a difficult movie to describe. Probably because it's unlike any movie I've seen before. It's almost like a romantic version of Inception (but without all the suicide). The movie takes place inside Jim Carrey's characters mind and takes the audience through a series of non-chronological flashbacks to fully explain the complicated relationship between Jim Carrey's Joel and Kate Winslet's Clementine. The plot, without spoiling it, is like something out of a science fiction movie but instead set in modern time and with very realistic, grounded characters - one of the many reasons why this works so well. The characters are entertaining, but at the same time delicate and real. Jim Carrey gives a great performance (one of the best I've seen from him), but it is Kate Winslet who really takes the cake. Her acting in this movie is fantastic - probably the best I've seen from her. The supporting cast consists of Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Tom Wilkinson and Kirsten Dunst; each of which fit into the story very well (they all appear in present time, and not in the Jim Carrey's mind or the flashbacks), and each plays their own important part to the story, subtly adding something unique in their own right.
In some ways this isn't the type of movie I often watch. It is described as a drama, romance, comedy and fantasy by IMDb, and succeeds as all but one of those. As a romance, it is effective - greatly relying on the undeniable chemistry between Carrey and Winslet; it is poignant but touching. As a drama, it works from start to finish, even when a lot of the drama is focusing the secondary characters, and not Carrey or Winslet (one very effective reveal with Kirsten Dunst's character you'll never see coming). As a fantasy, in it's own weird way, it also works: the plot, again without spoiling anything, involves going into peoples minds and attempting to delete memories (see the similarities with Inception now?), and has the dazzling originality that many modern movies lack. But it is only as a comedy that it slightly falls down. I giggled a grand total of twice throughout the movie, because ultimately the rest of the comedy fell flat. Writer Charlie Kaufman clearly put a lot of work into the characters and story (and did an excellent job there), but evidently put little work into the uninspired humour that accompanies the movie. It probably would have worked better if all the comedy was simply wiped from the script.
But putting that aside there is nothing more to criticise. The third act and especially the climax is mesmerising and perhaps even genius; the plot is clever and more than anything original; the cast is spot-on and the acting is great. This is undoubtedly an extremely weird movie, but whether or you like it or not, it is certainly unforgettable; and if you like it, you'll probably love it.