Jon Monsarrat review: boring and overly arty

Rating: 6/10 (23 April 2004)

I was never a film major but I appreciate a good drama. Some films go over my head though. For example, Solaris, which is brilliant in many ways, but slow-paced and ultimately didn't say anything deep to me. The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was similar.
I think I get it. Even though relationships have bad sides, they're still worth having. But the film doesn't say it in a very interesting way. The acting was good but I guess it was the slow pacing that caught me the wrong way. No soundtrack, slow, boring. I didn't sense huge chemistry between the protagonists, nor did I find either of them particularly likable. Maybe they were a little too extreme to take seriously, unlike the characters in High Fidelity, another serious drama about relationships that has the same message.
I know people who can appreciate certain aspects of a film, such as the costuming or cinematography, regardless of whether the other aspects work. Personally I feel that a film has to be accessible to be great, which this is not. Currently, the film is rated one of the greats of all time. Not in my opinion.
Who should see this film:
-- Arty types
-- Kate Winslet fans
-- Romance film types with nothing better to do on a rainy day, but don't expect a comedy, and be ready for melancholy
I'll give The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind a parts-were-great / parts-were-awful mix of 6 out of 10.