Eternal Sunshine Isn't All It's Cracked Up To Be, But The Movie Is
Do you ever just wake up and think, "How did I end up here?"
Do we erase who we are to make our lives more palpable? Do we think we're the only ones who do it?
Well, if those are questions of interest to you, you might just be ready for a shot atEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a movie that is quite unlike any other I've seen. While jotting down notes of the movie the next day, I became the (willing) victim of a myriad of emotions.
It's still sinking in. It's hard to say exactly what kind of story this is. You find yourself starting out with somethingsimple,something you can make sense of. Man is standing at train station, man makes a sudden run at the last possible second to a different destination. He meets a girl, they talk a little bit, they start going together, and everything seems fine... Well, if you are a fan of the Memory Movies, you might recall a certainLeonard Shelby Memories are an interpretation, they're not a record.
" What does this have to do with it ? You don't want to know.
【Jim Carrey】Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind【Elijah Wood】 Memories may Come & Go, but Love is Eternal
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
ventured into realms that haven't been touched before by Hollywood. It is true that the basic premise of the movie is the traditionaltheme, but it was tackled in a different way. Not only was the couple the opposite of conventional, ( as Kate Winslet's hair changed from blue, to red, to "tangerine"
), but they were darkly humorous and quite nearly tragic.
The movie starts out much as Adaptation did, with a voice-over from our main character,Joel, played by Jim Carey. He is weak, pathetic, and easily lured in by the " seductive
" powers of a blue-haired female, Clementine
. by Carey. Jim Carrey's performance is Oscar worthy, without a doubt. He is truly amazing. It is hard to believe that he is the same actor who portrayedAce Ventura,pet detective. Kate Winslet The pleasant surprise wasKirsten Dunstin a limited role. She really did the most
she could with her character, and played her role very well.
Well, I've spent all this time telling you about the schema of the movie's plot, but I have only written a bare minimum about the actors, and nothing about the writer ( Charlie Kaufman
) or the director ( Michel Gondry
). Good, good, good...they all do a good job. As a matter of fact, they do a Nicejob (that's an inside joke you'll understand if you see the movie.) So there you have it. Forrest Gump
once said that life was a box of chocolates and that you had to unwrap
them to get to them etc., etc, etc. Well, maybe so... To many, this movie may seem like they areunwrapping nothing more than empty wads of paperfrom beginning to end. But if you will "read between the lines", so-to-speak, and try to see what is really happening to the characters, you may come up smiling at the end.
Overall, I was so awestruck that I simply cannot criticize the film.
It was a breath of fresh air
from every film this year. Kaufmandefinitely has talent, and he did not hesitate to use it. The meaning is hardest to analyze. On the surface, it's a story about relationships, not just man-woman but human relationships on a larger scale.
There is also a theme of cherishing life, enjoying every moment. The movie takes the old adage of " you don't appreciate things until they are gone
" to the extreme. But I get the feeling after the initial viewing that there is something else that Im missing. In any case, it is a very tightly written and woven story. You will have found your chocolate bob-bon, and it will taste very, very sweet. Maybe even, in the words of Try To Remember, maybe even...mellow......