An absolute head-trip - for the viewer as well as the protagonist.

Rating: 7/10 (13 August 2006)

Bizarre, alternative, tragic, beautiful; the list of adjectives could go on forever when it comes to describing the look and feel of Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. The film is definitely all of these things but there are some faults hidden within the puzzle that is inside Jim Carrey's mind, or in his character's, at least.
Overall, I like the use of the hand held camera and the disorientating use of jump cuts in the editing reminds me of some films from the 'French New Wave', especially the ones with the romance theme. This is all there from the starting blocks and the simplistic settings and exchanges of dialogue very early on work with these techniques well. The train is an ideal, romantic first setting and there's enough build up in the first ten minutes to warrant the reaction we'll feel later on when everything starts to go wrong. Interestingly enough, these jump cuts start to get more frequent just as we begin to suspect something here isn't quite right.
The dialogue is clever as it hints at things to come, as well as staying neutral, harmless 'getting to know you' banter. An example is when the 'girl' seems to recognise him and asks if they've met before. Our hero dismisses it as a chance encounter at the book shop maybe. This is clever as if you notice this line; there will be more of an impact later on in the film. Good script and good story work, here.
As the film wears on, there is a distinct element of eeriness. This is shown through flashbacks, although they're flashbacks with a twist as Carrey's character (Joel) is apparently 'witnessing his own memories.' Imagine what it would be like to stand next to yourself, invisible of course, in an old memory and witness it all over again. This is what happens throughout this film and there is certainly a touch of what 'Being John Malkovich' was like in the final fifteen minutes or so was like, only this time  it's almost throughout. What's also good about these eerie moments is that some of them have a comic touch to them, whereas some will genuinely make you shiver. This is a good juxtaposition to have flowing throughout.
As well as this, there are many 'little things' to watch out for. Some examples include the changing colour of Clementine's (Winslet) hair, the disappearing backgrounds and things that were there before that aren't there now or have changed. This is why the film has such an alluring feel to want to go back and see again, but some other scenes involving other characters seem strangely out of place. Anything that's happening to people in the real world, outside of Joel's mind just seems pointless and the scenes are random and unfunny. Joel and Clementine are the main focus, not Dunst and Wilkinson's characters whom have their own miniature side story twist.
However, with a strong and powerful ending (in his psyche, at least) and good, serious acting all round feeding off a good script and zany concepts  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind is a good film.