Random Access Memory

Rating: 8/10 (4 March 2019)

Finally back on my quest for the IMDB 2005 Oscar's badge, the next film on the list was "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" which won Best Original Screenplay that year.
After discovering that his ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has had their relationship expunged from her mind, Joel (Jim Carrey) decides to undergo the same procedure. Whilst seemingly asleep, Joel experiences his memories being deleted like a fractured dream, during which he decides that he still loves Clementine and he's made a mistake. Desperate, he tries to cling to his memories whilst confused technicians Stan (Mark Ruffalo) and Patrick (Elijah Wood) try to complete the extraction.
It's been a while since I'd seen "Sunshine", though I did watch the series "Kidding" towards the end of last year, which share some similarities and I loved that. To be honest, it took a while for the film to win me over, although it did before the end. Though Carrey is great, it's Kate Winslet's performance that I'd forgotten about. Initially I misremembered her character as being the "Indie Pixie love interest" that would become a trope a few years later, but she isn't really like that. She becomes an appealing character, or at least the version of her in Joel's memories is, and it's clear why Joel would repeatedly fall for her, but she also does appear to be very impulsive, perhaps to the point of being bipolar. That said, I think much of my initial apathy to the film came from seeing their initial connection (or perhaps reconnection) and not really feeling it was all that plausible.
So, why did it win me over? I guess because I eventually found myself invested in that central love story, in wanting Joel to find a way to overcome his decision and keep his memories. You combine that with some excellent practical effects (techniques that Gondry still employs today) it makes for a truly memorable experience. (In fairness, some of the digital effects haven't aged quite as well as the practical ones). What I do find extraordinary is how few films we've had from the mind of Charlie Kaufman since that early 2000's period, including "Being John Malkovich and "Adaptation" was a hell of run, with two nominations to go with the previously mentioned best original screenplay win. Why we've only had one full feature since then presumably has to be his choice?
Beautiful and memorable, though at bit patchy at the start, its charm may win you over, as it did me.