Maybe the best film of 2004: an original comedy that is also profound

Rating: 9/10 (16 December 2004)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the latest from screen writing superstar Charlie Kaufman, may be one of the best films you'll see all year.
Jim Carrey shrugs off his mannerisms to play Joel Barish, an introvert who falls in love with the flamboyant Clementine (a well-cast Kate Winslet). When the relationship ends a year later, and she has him erased from her memory at the Lacuna Clinic, he retaliates by undergoing the same procedure. While unconscious, Joel works backwards through key moments in their relationship  trying to change the past, and the future. Meanwhile, the Clinic's employees  perky receptionist Mary (Kirsten Dunst), technician Stan (Mark Ruffalo), the self-serving Patrick (Elijah Wood), and Dr Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson)  face the ethical challenges of the work they do.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind can be enjoyed on many levels. It's an engaging comedy drama romance with A List actors, capably directed by Michael Gondry (director of Kaufman's Adaptation). The cast work well in ensemble and the characters, even those bereft of memories, manage to mature. Like Kaufman's sublime Being John Malkovitch, the film successfully weaves fantastical elements into the commonplace. Yet it's structurally and philosophically that the film enthralls. Eternal Sunshine uses a non-linear narrative to simulate the complexity of someone's mind, and demonstrate how memory constructs identity. ****1/2/***** stars.