Kaufman gets the emotion right this time, the direction is great and Carrey is suitably low key (review contains thematic spoilers)

Rating: Null/10 (16 May 2004)

After being blanked by her when trying to make up, Joel discovers that his girlfriend (ex) has had all memory of their relationship wiped from her memory using a process carried out by Dr Mierwiak. Distraught by this, Joel decides to undergo the same treatment. Mierwiak's operators (Frank and Patrick) come to Joel's home to carry out the process but, as his memories are wiped, Joel realises that he has happy memories, albeit they are tinged with pain now. He tries to escape with his memories of Clementine and hid her in his deeper memories. Meanwhile Patrick has stolen Joel's memories and is using them to try and seduce Clementine.
If one thing surprised me about this film it was just how successful it seems to have been. I say this because the audience that makes a hit is mostly a young one. This film requires a maturity or experience in relationships that many younger people will be fortunate not to have. The film relies on you having had a break up where one partner moves on without delay, leaving you in their wash  just as Joel had here. Sadly I have had such an experience, and the idea of washing away painful memories but also wanting to keep them for their happiness is one I could relate to. Perhaps this is why, for my money, this is the most emotionally involving script that Kaufman has done yet. Normally he is very quirky but that's it, here he shows a real solid bit of emotional that really helps what is actually quite a weak plot.
The story follows a thread within Joel's mind as well as a thread involving Patrick and Frank. Both these threads combine to make the film's final point but as pieces of narrative they are rather thin. However what keeps them going is both the emotional core of the film and the innovative writing and direction. The emotional involvement comes from the very real picture of Joel  hurt to his core by his ex but slowly realising that her memory is worth having. This thread works much better than the 'real world' one, and it's purpose is not fully clear until the end (although it is still interesting and enjoyable). Only the film's conclusion put me off a little bit  it sort of concludes that our faults will come out and that we will really hurt those we are with, at the end Clementine accepts this with Joel.
I agree with this but it is a Hollywood ending that people would do this  in my experience people do not fight through faults, they bare them for as long as they can until they decide to give up. Like I said, Hollywood happy ending. This isn't a bad ending because I was emotionally involved with the characters and was happy with the ending, if not the idea that it promoted.
The writing is very clever and inventive (although how many times can Kaufman write scripts around the same theme?) but it is the direction that impressed me even more. The way that the script is brought to the screen and that a world of memories within the mind is displayed so well so as never to be confusing or to lose the audience. It looks great and the deletion of memories is delivered with a very effective mix of styles and presentation tools. To me what made this film so enjoyable was this mix of a clever script with a director who has enough vision to deliver what it requires.
The cast are also pretty good, with the only problem being that they occasionally play second fiddle to the visuals and ideas around them. Carrey is very good and shows a subtlety that Ace Ventura fans may not believe he could have had. He has quite a few solid roles under his belt now and he is looking like he is cutting a leading man niche for himself. Winslet is also good and prevents her character from being almost totally annoying  why Joel sees anything in her is a mystery to me! She has less character than Carrey is given, she is either hyper in memory or a little annoying in the real world. The support cast have the lesser thread to work with and their characters are lesser as a result. Ruffalo is impressive but not just for this role. I have seen him in several films and he is different in each: an interesting actor that I'll continue to watch. Wood is a bit too dippy and it's 'too soon' since LOTR for me to be able to shake off the idea that he is Frodo! Wilkinson is a good presence and Dunst is OK despite overplaying the 'carefree' section of her character so that the 'with memories' section will be more impacting.
Overall I am surprised that this film is so high up the top 100 on imdb already and I personally doubt that it will keep it over time. That said this is still the best script/film to come from Kaufman thus far. On top of the usuals, he has also delivered emotional involvement with the film and it is this that makes it so engaging. The direction is very impressive and does a great job of bringing the script to the screen. These factors combined with a winning (if low key) lead from Carrey make for a film that deserves to be seen by many viewers, regardless of experience or age.