Kaufman's mind is a world of its own!

Rating: 7/10 (22 March 2004)

You can add Charlie Kaufman to the list of names (Hitler, Michael Jackson, Dr. Seuss) of people whom I never want to know what is going on in their own little minds. As a writer of such films as Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Human Nature, the slant to which this man sees the world is somewhat out of my comprehension.
Not that that's a bad thing. David Cronenberg continues to create films that amaze me with his vivid worlds of sex, violence and the creatures that lurk in the dark, but I rarely turn down an opportunity to sit through one of his fascinating films.
Now, Charlie Kaufman releases his next foray into his mind-bending filmography with the poorly titled Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The film, stars Jim Carrey as Joel, a mild mannered polite recluse that meats Clementine (Kate Winslet), a free spirited outgoing alcoholic. The two spark up a relationship that lasts the better part of a year before falling apart over a harsh conversation one cold New York day.

Wanting to rid herself of the memory of Joel, Clementine seeks the help of Dr. Howard Mierzwaik (Tom Wilkinson) who operates a business that can remove selected memories in a non-surgical operation that is on-line with a night of heavy drinking'. The movie then follows Joel as he fights the procedure and tries to retain the happier times within the relationship.

The story as summarized in a single paragraph seems simple enough, but with the Kaufman slant thrown in, it is anything but. We watch as Joel plays cat and mouse with the doctors working on his unconscious body and watch as Joel's dreams and memories begin to disappear before him. Imagine your most vivid memory then conceive of it being stripped from you element by element. The house you were in disappears. The people you knew vaporize. Fences or other structures dissolve as if never erected. You run, but it follows you relentlessly erasing everything one step behind you. You try and hide in a suppressed memory, but the procedure is a success and soon these experiences will be nothing more than a file in a doctor's office.
Exhausting.
Now, throw in a few sub-plots to further mess with your mind. There is the doctors' assistant, Patrick (Elijah Wood) who falls in love with Clementine and uses Joel's memories to woo her into a romance. There is also the love story between Dr. Mierzwaik, his wife, his secretary (Kristin Dunst) and assistant (Mark Ruffalo) that is too complicated and quirky to reveal here. Each of these play out during the 108 minute running time and are as non-conventional ideas as any of Kaufman's work.
So, verdict time. I am beginning to think that Charlie Kaufman might be the Martin Scorsese of our day. See back in the 80's and 90's, Scorsese was able to get the best out of his actors and actresses and was able to provide an Oscar winning role to Paul Newman and a nomination to Sharon Stone. Anyone who can pull off this feat deserves credit. Well, Kaufman should be no less regarded. Catherine Keener pulled out a nomination for Being John Malkovich and Nicholas Cage was robbed of an Oscar for his duel role in Adaptation. We can now add Jim Carrey to the list of actors that have proven their best following the written words of Mr. K. By acting low key, without having us think he is being restrained, Carrey finally shows us the range he tried in other dramatic fare such as Man on the Moon and The Majestic. The supporting cast, especially Dunst as the toke-smoking assistant are equally impressive.
Oh yeah, the verdict. Spotless Mind is not for all tastes, but in keeping an open frame, it might just end up on some critics best of' lists at years end. Who wouldn't want to have a memory erased? The loss of a pet, your most humiliating moment. Kaufman exploits that notion and eventually shows us that each experience is there for a purpose, and good or bad, they make you what you are today. This film challenged me into thinking of what I would dispose of within my own noggin and then further brought me to thinking as to whether I would regret the procedure. I left the theatre without an answer, and aren't those the best kind of films of all? B+
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