I am absolutely in love with this film!

Rating: 10/10 (19 March 2004)

Just saw "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," which I absolutely fell in love with, to a degree that I may not have done since "Moulin Rouge" came out. If the brilliant script by Charlie Kauffman, and directing by Michel Gondry weren't enough, a quartet of actors whose careers I have followed for a long time--Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, and Elijah Wood--all give their best performances to date. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet's chemistry, in particular, was electric. I don't want to spoil one moment of this glorious, weird, and wonderful film for anyone, but I do want to say that the last love story I have seen on film was "Lost in Translation", a film I really didn't care that much for, but everyone told me have a love story between completely three dimensional characters that fit perfectly together from their first scene together. Although the two films are very, very different, this is exactly how I would describe my feelings for Carrey and Winslet's characters. These people were flawed, frustrating, but wonderful, and wonderfully real people. Kauffman has an amazing knack for using outlandish, fantastical plots as backdrops for fascinating, completely realistic character studies. There are points in this film where you'll want to stop and rewind, or at least pause to work out what is going on in your head. The fact that, in the theatre, you can't, you are forced to sit back and watch and mull over all of the myriad details later, only adds to the film and its overall feeling of madness and loss. And just like his other films, it doesn't ever tell you how to feel nor give easy answers to the complex situations. Very impressed with the directing, too, and how for the most part, Gondry keeps it straightforward and low-key, using special effects or weird camera tricks very rarely, so that they are even more effective when they do happen. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, well if I could I would hand each of them an Oscar right now. If he in particular isn't finally taken seriously as an actor for his brilliant work in this film, it would be a damn shame.