Love, memory, loss and the contemporary human condition

Rating: Null/10 (19 April 2004)

Charlie Kaufman is undeniably one of the most talented screenwriters in Hollywood. His films speak volumes about the contemporary human condition, and with an auteur like Michel Gondry at the directorial helm, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind does not disappoint.
Together, Kaufman and Gondry experiment with notions of temporality, memory and infinity via a journey into the psyche of the film's painfully shy and introverted protagonist, Joel Barish (played by Jim Carrey). It is with deliberate though graceful trajectorial shifts that love and fate are interwoven, and the raw and honest plunge into Joel's relationship with Clementine (Kate Winslet), his mother and his childhood is positively moving. The concepts of love, memory and human desire are also explored through the supporting characters; and in typical Kaufman form, are craftily entwined with the experiences of both Joel and Clementine.
Although the film exercises a healthy dose of Freudian theory to emancipate its bulky and complex narrative structure, I believe it does so with great success. The exposition is effective and meaningful, and does not make compromises typical of the Hollywood romance genre. After all, this film is much more than a love story.
If you liked films such as Being John Malkovich, Lost in Translation, or Adaptation, then this one is definitely for you.