A ray of sunshine in rom-com winter

Rating: 8/10 (6 October 2004)

Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet star in this Charlie Kaufman-scripted love story which overcomes its central device to elicit genuine emotion.
Quiet straight arrow Joel (Carrey) has been dumped by wacky Clementine (Winslet) and is hurt to learn she's opted for a new process to remove all memories of him.
Distraught, he jumps into the same procedure and has to endure the heartache of losing her again, this time in reverse as he becomes a bystander in his own memories.
Along the way Joel discovers an unprofessional operative is attempting to use inside knowledge to worm his way into Clem's affections and so determines to interrupt the process and hide a few precious moments with her.
Although the plot mechanism is Kaufman's king, he doesn't subjugate the human elements beneath its needs and crafts some poignantly tender scenes.
Carrey also impresses, showing there's far more to him than a looning Jerry Lewis clone with a convincing portrayal of loss.