Not your typical Hollywood take on love

Rating: 9/10 (15 October 2004)

First off I really liked this movie (and yes I must admit that I was a previous kaufman fan). I felt that the most powerful aspect of this movie and the meaning that I took away from it was that love doesn't have to be 'perfect' to be worthwhile. Too many, if not all, times Hollywood will present movies with a romantic angle that are cookie-cutter perfect. Its always this perfect guy meets some perfect girl they have this perfect romance with some trite easily-overcome problems within. I loved the fact that the characters in this movie argued, and over stupid things, so much like real life. For me the fact that they argued made the love more real, the movie shows that love has good and bad sides that one must expect. If you expect your love life to be like a generic "romantic comedy" you will find yourself eternally let-down. One of Kate Winslet's early lines in the move cracked me up, when Carey's character calls her nice and she says shes "a vindictive b***h"
I thought Jim Carey did a great job in staying away from 99% of his usual facial mannerisms and I really bought his character. I also really bought the chemistry between the two leads. I think Clementine embodies many characteristics that Carey's char (I forgot his name) wishes that he had the courage to be. I think the reason he was attracted to Clemintine was that she has the ability to do exciting, spontaneous things that he could never do without her. And in doing so he feels liberated to an extent, but also resents her freedom from social constraints to a degree.
I also really enjoyed the way the filmmakers superbly captured the surreal sequences of the film, I dint find it boring, there were interludes but I had such a vested interest in the film at that point that I was along for the ride. The ending did seem like they had to search for a way to tie it together ,(in terms of the whole dunst romance angle) but really can anyone out there come up with a better ending? In closing there is no such thing as a 100% original film, just because all of the subject matter is not 100% original does not mean that the film cannot give a completely different take and angle on an old idea. I would be willing to bet that the works of phillip k dick influenced this film greatly. And this is one of the few romances on film that I have enjoyed greatly.