A "Dark Comedy" with No Comedy

Rating: 6/10 (2 February 2005)

This was billed as a "dark comedy", but I failed to find the comedy. There is plenty of "dark" to go around, but that's OK. I don't mind a serious movie that makes the audience feel some emotion.
The direction in this movie is outstanding. There have been many cinematic attempts to create a surreal environment for the viewer. They usually come off like those awful LSD "trippy" movies from the 1970's. This one got it right. It was clear when Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) was experiencing the progressive memory loss and how surreal that was to him. There is a LOT of interesting things going on in the background of many of the scenes in this movie. It is done without upstaging the events in the foreground, too. Truly outstanding work my Michael Gondry.
The acting was well-done, too. Jim Carrey turns in a remarkably depressing performance. Kate Winslet also plays her character extremely well. It is very, very believable even though the subject matter requires the suspension of disbelief.
This is my kind of movie. It is character-driven with a deep and innovative plot. The cinematic qualities of the movie are exceptional. What confused me the most was that I didn't like it much.
It took me until the next day to realize why the movie left me cold. I didn't like any of the characters. The Jim Carrey character is depressed, lonely and rather pitiful. The Kate Winslet character was a loony. She must have had bipolar disorder or something, because she was not stable. The supporting characters were ethics-free. There was no one in this movie that I cared about. It's a shame, too, because so much is right with this movie.
I gave it a 6/10.