A Dreary Story

Rating: 5/10 (22 March 2004)

It is sad that a movie with a cast like this is so dull and dreary. If I ranked movies from Charlie Kaufmann scripts, this would be better than movie about the orchids but nowhere near as good as Human Nature and Being John Malkovich. Kaufmann seems to reuse the sequence in Being John Malkovich in which the actor goes through his own portal. Whereas those scenes were brief, it comprises most of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Oddly enough, there isn't much development of either Jim Carrey or Kate Winslett's character beyond the grief caused by their relationship. We knew who Lila and Dr. Bronfmann were in Human Nature. Ask yourself what you know about the afflicted souls in this movie. All you will come up with is that they are an unhappy bunch. I am a big fan of all the stars of this movie, save for Mark Ruffalo, I mean, really. They can't save this movie individually or collectively. Maybe it wasn't in the script. Maybe it is the director's goof. Make no mistake. This movie stinks.