Some Things Are Meant To Be

Rating: 8/10 (19 March 2004)

There is none of the usual Jim Carey slapstick or goofy noises and faces, but instead a surprisingly thoughtful, complex and thought provoking story. There have been several movies at least that I can recall which deal with the subject of erasing and/or replacing memories which are unpleasant or painful (I think Ben Affleck had one earlier this year, that no one seems to remember- hey it really works!). They usually involve spotless labs and sinister technicians in white coats. In this well spun take, the memory erasers (by design) behave more like the dolts who come over to connect your cable television from Verizon. There is some interesting play with flashbacks and Carey's character's attempts to defeat the memory erasure for which he had contracted to remove thoughts of a failed relationship (with Kate Winslet) while it is in progress. As the viewer sorts out the chronology of the film as it unfolds, and the effects of the various inter-related subplots with the small cast of characters you are drawn closer into the story, and the impending outcome. The movie is set in the present, and the troubled relationship is depicted as very real, and actually very troubled, but that in itself is quite realistic. This is not a "Hollywood" love story, (although in a larger sense, perhaps it is, in a more modern and updated version). It will make you think, and maybe make you smile. Who knows?; You may have even seen it already...