Sweet and Funny and

Rating: 9/10 (21 September 2004)

(Spoilers)
This is the story of what happens when Clementine (Kate Winslet)
decides to erase her ex-boyfriend, Joel (Jim Carrey) from her
memory. Because this is a story by Charlie Kaufman and not Nora
Ephron, Clem can literally do such a thing; when an aggrieved Joel
decides to reciprocate, we experience his memories of her just as
those memories are being destroyed.
This is a marvelous film that could easily have coasted on its
amazing (and often funny) visual effects, but it succeeds because
of Joel and Clementine. Carrey is touching in his portrayal of a
slightly lost man -- I think this is his best dramatic role, perhaps
because his character is sympathetic, but not heroic. Winslet's
performance is less surprising -- Clementine, with her passion
and desire for self-invention, shares something with Julia
(Hideous Kinky) and Juliet (Heavenly Creatures,) but just as good.
Their relationship is both charming and exasperating, and
apparently they liked it that way: when Joel is talking (inside his
head) to his memory of Clementine, his brain makes her just as
unpredictable as the real Clem. Their scenes together are so
thoughtfully constructed that even though much of their story is told
in flashbacks, I still wondered exactly how it would turn out.
Those with a rabid fear of sentiment won't like this movie, as it is
largely a film about the nature of love, but this movie is definitely
worth seeing for its startling look and touching story.