A film someone would be mad to try to forget

Rating: 10/10 (11 May 2004)

SPOILERS
From the start, let me just say that I'm an enormous fan of Charlie Kaufman. I can't say what it is about the guy which I enjoy so much, but in both "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation" he created two films which whilst are VERY obscure, are simultaneously brilliant. In fact, the one criticism I do have for Kaufman is one which is often repeated. The problem with Kaufman is that often he isn't particularly good at conclusions. Don't get me wrong, his conclusions are often above average, but compared with the rest of the film, they're disappointments. With this in mind I was intrigued to see what he would do with "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind". I've seen some criticisms, I've seen a lot of praise, personally I love it.
In this film we are introduced to Joel Barish (Jim Carrey). Joel is basically useless. He has negligible people skills, doesn't express himself and just doesn't seem to fit into life. Suddenly one day he is introduced to Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet). "Clem" is an outgoing hippy style of person who teaches Joel about life and together they begin a relationship. At some point however, things inevitably go wrong and after learning of a technique to remove memories (already used by Clementine), Joel figures he is better off without her. This leads to a unique and often obscure trip through Joel's subconscious as his mind is purged of his love.
In "Eternal Sunshine Of A Spotless Mind", Kaufman has continued a run of form. I'll confess I've never seen "Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind", but his films I have seen I've adored. In this piece, Kaufman presents a beautiful trip through the human mind and into the world of memory. In a few scenes where he is unable to remember faces, they fade into blurred focus, exactly as in the real mind. As Joel travels through his mind, we experience his entire relationship with Clementine, reasons for it's collapse and we even experience earlier moments in his life.
I'll admit that this film is not perfect. Others might disagree, others might condemn the film itself more, but personally at times it felt like it dragged slightly. When the titles came up and I left, I did feel emotional and awe struck. In effect Kaufman produced a good ending for once. The problem however is that there ARE times during this film when it doesn't seem to progress too much. It's a film easily worthy of the IMDb top 250, however the mid 40's feels perhaps slightly too high.
I have no doubt this is a film I'll one day buy on DVD, in fact I look forward to it. This film reminds us of how we should always embrace every moment and how the good can sometimes mix with the bad. In the long run though, despite amazing pieces by Carrey & Winslet, I don't feel myself connecting with their relationship enough. Carrey is amazing as the withdrawn Joel, as is Winslet as Clementine, ultimately though, in their real relationship (not the Clementine, Joel creates in his mind) they feel at odds with each other and don't appear to click.
In conclusion then, this film is brilliant. It's by no stretch of the imagination perfect, but a few flaws does not prevent it from being yet another Kaufman piece of beauty which affects it's viewing audience. If you haven't seen this film yet, then go watch it straight away.