This is utterly Eternal in every sense

Rating: 10/10 (27 October 2007)

From Director and co-writer Michel Gondry comes the innovative and completely original Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. This could easily be considered the best love story of modern time which stands up in the leagues of Love Affair, Ghost, and Sleepless in Seattle.
The film tells the story of Joel and Clementine, two thirty-somethings who are brought together by fate and torn apart by indifference's. When Joel finds out that Clementine gets a procedure to erase Joel from his memory, Joel strikes back with similar consequences. While Joel is getting the procedure done, which erases from most recent memory and back, he realizes his love for Clementine is very much alive. He fights against the "machine" to remember as much about her as possible.
Jim Carrey gives the best performance of his career. His Joel is very vulnerable and awkward. We have never seen Carrey play a character like this when so little of his normal film antics come out. The early release date ruined his chances for consideration and with previous snubs for The Truman Show and especially Man on the Moon, Carrey is due for some serious recognition.
Kate Winslet, who is arguably one of the greatest actresses working today, plays Clementine so incredibly free-spirited and vivacious, she's nearly unrecognizable. As awkward as the character is, Clementine possesses a special sexiness and attractive quality that draws the viewer to her and Winslet is at the helm of this ship. Not only is she incredibly sympathetic, she is the heroin of the picture. We haven't seen a film where the natural charisma of humanity is engaged so much in a character's words, expressions and general aura. The love for the character is what the viewer takes home with them and we wonder about her as well as Joel.
The rest of the supporting cast is exceptional in their own ways: Tom Wilkinson, arguably snubbed for the win for his portrayal in In the Bedroom, brings the role of the rather cold-hearted doctor to life. His Dr. Howard is rather two-dimensional but Wilkinson does an exceptional job of making him purely human. Elijah Wood as the incredibly annoying and obnoxious Patrick takes him to new realms of acting. Wood has a hard time breaking free of his two-dimensional personality and making characters authentic. This is Wood's best portrayal yet including his powerful portrayal in Radio Flyer.
Kirsten Dunst has returned to form since her breakout performance in 1994's Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, but she gives an admiral effort here as the lovely assistant Mary. This isn't just great comedic turn for her but an tremendous dramatic one. Mark Ruffalo as the zany and intelligent Stan is juicy in dialogue but rather one note in emotions. Stan is very likable but just can't get off the ground in terms of development and range. A disappointing turn for Ruffalo especially since we've seen what he can do in his breakthrough performance in You Can Count on Me.
In the end it's the screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry and Pierre Bismuth that are the stars of the film. Kaufman who has wrote some of the most innovative films of modern cinema peaks at this point in his career. Adaptation, Being John Malkovich, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind don't even measure to the life of this film. The intangible life of the film is shown through ideas, energy, and strong development of story and creature.
Eternal Sunshine shines on so many levels that you can't even start to touch the highest points of the film. This is the greatest story of all time, and the belief of love and redemption is visually stunning.
Grade: ****/****