A Brilliant Modern Romance

Rating: 8/10 (27 August 2005)

Simply stated, Charlie Kaufman is one of the most talented, original presences in modern film. So far, he's delivered the strikingly innovative "Being John Malkovich", the quirky and amusing "Human Nature", and the vibrant masterpiece, "Adaptation". I find "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" to be somewhat more difficult to rate. I will tell you why later in the review.
First, the story. Jim Carrey plays Joel Barish, a man heart-broken by the loss of his eccentric girlfriend, Clementine (Winslet). He finds out she underwent a controversial new procedure (offered by a company named Lacuna, Inc.) that erases a selected memory from the human brain. Her selected memory was the long, meaningful relationship between her and Joel, which came to a bitter end. After learning this, Joel impulsively decides to have the procedure done on him. The film then shows us what goes on inside Joel's head while two young Lacuna employees (Wood, Ruffalo) carry out the procedure. Joel relives his relationship with Clementine, revealing all of their most intimate moments and quirks, and in the process, realizes how much he loves her. He then attempts to hide from the memory erasure with Clementine, burying himself in his most humiliating memories, trying to save some memory of the woman he now does not want to forget about.
The film features wonderful performances from the entire cast, Carrey especially, who delivers arguably his best performance. The writing, of course, is top notch, Kaufman is a genius. The directing from former music video director Michel Gondry is teeming with life, vision, and personality. The film itself is absolutely excellent, as it perfectly portrays one of the most realistic, down-to-earth relationships ever conveyed through film, striking a delicate balance of joy and pain, revealing the couples most intimate and candid moments while never exploiting sex between the two characters.
Now, here's my dilemma in rating this film. For some reason, I just don't love it like I feel I should. I don't know, for some reason it just doesn't connect with me like it does others. But this is just me personally. If I were rating this film on quality alone, I'd give it a 10/10. But since I rate films based on how much I like them, I give it an...
8/10