Another great mind-bender by Kaufman

Rating: Null/10 (22 March 2004)

Charlie Kaufman. Not many people know who he is. Is he an actor? Is he a director? Is he a producer? Well... no, none of the above. He's a writer. And a damn fine one at that. Since his arrival in tinsle town, Charlie Kaufman has brought us two of the most kick ass movies of this Millenium; Being John Malkovich and Adaptation. His writing has become synonymous with the word obtuse. Each of his past two movies have delved into the world of the warped and yet been able to keep reality a part of the story. In his latest movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind, he breaks all the rules and takes us all into a new dimension of the word warped. Jim Carey stars as Joel Barish, a man who has very little self-esteem and questions his own reason for existance. Joel finds out that his ex-girlfriend, who has hurt him worse than anyone ever has, had all her memories of him erased from her mind. Joel makes the decision to do the same. Only he realizes that his memories of her are the only positive things he has left. He takes it upon himself to do everything possible to keep Clementine in his thoughts and beats the process that is wiping her from his memory. If this plot sounds confusing don't worry, it is. This movie is one of the most original films I've seen in a long while. Scratch that, since Adaptation. The romantic element and the character depth work so well together in this film. All the outside factors play a significant role in the outcome of the film and leave you wanting to see more after the credits role. There are some great supporting roles, especially by Elija Wood, who picks a great post-Frodo role as a pathetic technician whose choices throughout the film make you feel sorry for him and hate him all at the same time. Kirsten Dunst and Brad Renfo have great chemistry in this film as well and their scenes together work out terrific. Eternal Sunshine is a great date movie for those who love the oblique. If you're looking for a simple When Harry Met Sally like movie, this ain't it. This is something a thousand steps up and only a true fan of film can appreciate the amount of work and effort that went into this. You're not going to want to erase this movie from your memory any time soon.