Sublime

Rating: 10/10 (2 February 2009)

With his first two successful screenplays, Charlie Kaufman established himself as one of the most creative and idiosyncratic screenwriters in the business. But with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind he builds on this reputation further, showing a soft side that had previously been barely hidden behind his oft-charming middle-aged neurosis. It helps that this script is just as groundbreaking as that of Being John Malkovich or Adaptation.
Kauffman's stand-in this time around is Joel Barish, a sweet loser played with his best sad puppy-dog face by Jim Carrey. It is difficult to tell you anything about Joel's romantic situation as it stands at the beginning of the movie, because doing so could partially reveal the truly ingenious plot structure. Suffice it to say that Barish is unlucky and unconfident with women and Kauffman beautifully plays with how we view Joel's situation.
The basic premise is that Joel finds out that his longtime girlfriend, Clementine, played vibrantly by Kate Winslet, has had him erased from her memory using a new procedure developed by Dr. Howard Mierzcwak, with Tom Wilkinson playing the doctor to perfection. Joel, who is so grief-ridden by this turn of events, impulsively decides to have Clementine erased from his own mind. Mierczwak gets the treatment going immediately.
The procedure consists of Joel being knocked out, strapped to his bed, and having a strange device attached to his head, while technicians delete the unpleasant memories overnight. Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood are the technicians, who along with Kirsten Dunst as Ruffalo's girlfriend raid Joel's liquor cabinet and start to have a good time. Ruffalo is a good-hearted loser, but Wood is up to something more deplorable, something that we begin to learn about gradually over the course of the erasing.
Much of the movie takes place in Joel's own head, as he run through his distant memories of Clementine, who he gradually begins to realize he still loves. These scenes are executed with a perfect sense of surrealism by the talented music video director Michel Gondry, who establishes himself here as a true visionary. Unlike Spike Jonze he brings in mostly hand-held cameras which make the in-your-face surrealism of these scenes even more potent.
But the movie's truest strength lies in the purity of the love story between Joel and Clementine. It is a realistic yet wholly uncynical portrait of a real couple. However quirky Clementine may be (and believe me, quirky she is), the couple has real problems, and their love is a viable force.
To add to this, we get to see sides of Carrey and Winslet that have not yet been exposed until now. Carrey fully opens himself up emotionally. In every glance you see the self-doubt, the sadness, and the true love for Clementine, even when they first meet. Winslet feels more alive here than ever before, she has made what could have been a gimmick a person who feels intrinsically real, she inhabits the character entirely, making it her own and daring us not to like her despite her flaws.
But it all comes back to Kauffman, who shows that he not only can blow your mind with his creativity, plot structure and surrealism, but he opens us up to his human side here and it is enough to break your heart and make you jump for joy.