Eternally Good!

Rating: 10/10 (24 March 2006)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is definitely one of the most beautiful films that I've ever seen in my life. It centers on the life of Joel Barish, played by Jim Carrey. The story begins on Valentine's Day 2004 when Joel falls in love at the cafeteria with Clementine (played by Kate Winslet, who deserved her 4th Oscar nomination in this wonderful film). The first few scenes are interesting because they introduce each other when having conversations at the train and especially when Joel took Clementine home, but when Patrick (Elijah Wood of LOTR & Sin City) went to Joel's car the following morning, he decides to end up a relationship with Clementine.
With the help of psychiatrist Howard Mierzwaik (Tom Wilkinson, Normal), things get better as Joel is placed at the machine that will make his memories erase with the woman that he loves. He is afraid to do that attempt at first because he might suffer brain damage, but as time goes by, he felt nervous and unstable. Both Lacuna employees Mark Ruffalo (as the technician) and Kirsten Dunst (as the receptionist) guide him at all times while Joel is undergoing an operation at the hospital.
The flashbacks of both Joel and Clementine are seen during the entire film. From the Dinner at Kings to the impressive elephant parade and most especially at the Frozen Charles River where they decided to stay at the house for a while, they suffered ups and downs in their romance. The erasure of the memory process is replaced in each scene when Joel suffers unpleasant relationships with Clementine. We can see that certain things such as the bookcase and the titles of books are lost in several minutes as Joel's relationship with Clementine blooms. The ending became pitch-perfect when he brings Clementine back to his mind and starts a new chapter of their relationship.
I am not a big fan of romantic comedies, but this movie definitely captured my imagination because love happens when relationship goes better. I found at first Jim Carrey weird in his past films, but in this film, he becomes a full-fledged and serious dramatic actor like Sean Penn and Robin Williams. Kate Winslet, who was first recognized in Sense and Sensibility and the Oscar-Winning Titanic, truly can act despite suffering weaknesses in relationships with Carrey in certain scenes. And for the rest of the cast, including Kirsten Dunst and Elijah Wood, deserved wonderful performances as well. If we will sum up all the scenes in the film, romance never fades as relationship becomes sweeter.