The sun also rises...

Rating: 10/10 (20 June 2004)

Thank you Mike and Charlie
Eternal Sunshine, hands down, is the best film of early 2004. Filled with a brilliant script, visionary directing, some of the best editing seen in years, and performances that burst off the screen, Eternal Sunshine brings a new layer to the careers of all those involved.
A good film should pose a question, answer it, and leave room for viewer interpretation. In ESOTSM, the question is: What's the most important part of a relationship-where it takes us, or the memories we obtain while we get there?
The film tells the story of Joel Barish (Carrey) a businessman who one day takes an impulsive up the coast. On the train, He meets Clemintine (Winslet). The two connect, but we soon realize that there's more to them than we thought. For the next two hours, Kaufman and Gondry take us on a trip through Barish's mind. SHowing us the fall and rise of the two's relationship, and forcing the views to wonder if this was the best thing that Joel could of done-as he desperately clings to past memories.
Though the plot is convoluted, it's the performances of the actors that keep your eyes glued to the screen. Carrey channels the zaniness of his early career into the quiet, contained Joel- bringing a depth to the character that few others could (Think Adam Sandler in Punch-Drunk Love, but with more emotion) If the Academy passes him up for this as they did for Man on the Moon and The Truman Show, I'm gonna have issues with AMPAS. Likewise, Winslet serves as the perfect foil for Joel, acting as the crazy random connection that we all wish we'd make at some point. She brings out the bestin all those around her at all times during the film.
In addition to those two, everyone else with their name above the title on the poster puts in a stellar performance. Elijah Wood is just creepy enough to make us like him, Mark Ruffalo and Tom Wilkinson force the audience to think about the other side of the procedure, and Kirsten Dunst puts Mary-Jane to shame as a girl with more to her than you could ever expect.
All this is conducted beautifully by Gondry, who faced with a Kaufman Script, seemingly pulled it straight out of Charlie's messed up head. Shots exist that shouldn't, and all that acting prowess had to come from somewhere. Extra points for the dissolving bookstore and the scene with Joel bathing in the sink.
All told, Eternal Sunshine is a film that all should see. It's not a film about love, it's a film about remembering- something that so few of us do anymore-10/10
Look of the Film- Joel as a child from under the table.
Line of the Film-"But you will! But you will, and I'll get bored with you and feel trapped, because that's what happens with me!" "Okay."