fascinating exploration of memory

Rating: 8/10 (26 May 2004)

Having loved the other two Charlie Kaufman movies I'd seen, Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, I was eagerly looking forward to this one, which may be part of the reason that at first I was a bit underwhelmed. The early part of the film is pretty much all set up for the later part, and while it's not bad, it's not exceptional. But once the movie gets going, it goes all the one, creating an exhilarating and utterly fascinating experience that is funny, touching and wildly imaginative.
I can't help but feel the movie probably would have been better had it been directed by Spike Jonez, whose sensibility seems to perfectly compliment Kaufman's, and as much as I enjoyed the film, overall I felt the two Jonez movies were better. I don't think Jonez could have improved the movie's second half much, as it was wonderful, but I think he would have made the early scenes more compelling. But that's just a theory, and the fault may like in the writing rather than the direction.
Overall though, a great movie, brilliantly conceived and with a wonderful and telling end.