A sweet and genuine love story.

Rating: 9/10 (11 June 2004)

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND is the story of a couple, Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet). Joel is a little insecure and shy, while Clementine is spontaneous and outgoing. One day Joel goes to Clementine's workplace and is surprised and hurt when she acts as though she doesn't know who he is. He later finds out, by accident, that Clementine chose to have her memories of him erased in a surgical process, and decides to do the same. However, once the process has begun, Joel begins to realize that he may not want Clementine erased from his life, and fights to keep those memories.
This is a really sweet movie, but not in a sickening or artifical way. It manages to capture the complexities of the brain as well as the many aspects of love. It shows not just the happy, lovey-dovey moments, but the difficult and destructive ones as well. It's a love story above everything else, but it's not cheesy in the least and it has a lot of heart to it--something that most love stories don't have.
Going out of chronological order always makes films more interesting, and especially in the case of this movie. We go from Joel and Clementine meeting on the train directly to seeing Joel sobbing in his car, and we have to wonder--what just happened? This movie sucked me in immediately and kept me captivated throughout. But the thing that really impressed me about ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, other than its genuineness, was the acting. Jim Carrey is exceptional as Joel, proving that he can be both funny and sensitive, either in separate roles or in the same one. Kate Winslet is excellent, and the supporting cast is great as well.
I don't have a bad thing to say about ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND. It's a great movie with excellent acting, good directing, and a lot of heart. A sweet love story, and a lot more. 9/10.