cinema lunatic

There certainly aren't as many movies as bold as Michel Gondry and Charles Kaufman's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," released in early 2004. I can only guess that the studio had no idea how to market this movie --- I know I was turned off by what seemed to be another attempt by Jim Carrey to be a Serious Actor. I could tell how earnest this attempt was because it also starred Kate Winslet, who is the living embodiment that a producer is serious about making a quality film (even if, as "Titanic" shows, that's not always the case). I now know the error of those assumptions.

So, what is "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," then? It could be labeled a love story, but anyone expecting a frilly date movie might have walked out on this. It is an adventure story, sort of the way that "Waking Life" was an adventure through someone's mind. That's a hard sell to the masses. It could be called an art film with heart, but I am embarrased by the very fact that I typed that.

So, to sum up, Joel (Carrey) and Clementine (Winslet) have a tumultuous two-year relationship. They break up after a particularly nasty fight and the impulsive Clementine decides to have her memories of Joel erased at Lacuna, Inc. When Joel finds out, he demands that his memories of her are erased as well. Joel dreams of his memories as the doctor and his technicians (played by Tom Wilkinson, Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst, and Elijah Wood) perform their procedure during the night, and Joel dreams of the days when he fell in love Clementine. The movie here takes an unexpected turn, and becomes an adventure story, as Joel and the dream-Clementine try to save his memories of her by hiding in his other memories. Meanwhile, the employees of Lacuna, Inc., drinking and smoking in Joel's bedroom, are getting tangled in their own relationships, which are of the surreal kind that can only take place late at night. (You know something's going to happen because the nurse/receptionist is played by Kirsten Dunst and not just some girl.)

I don't think I've revealed too much. Part of the fun of this movie is teasing out exactly what is going on and what we are looking at. The special effects are mostly pleasingly low-tech --- hidden doors and forced-perspective --- which gives a solidity to the weird dreams that we are watching unfold on screen. In one sequence, a four-year-old boy dashes under a table, we cut to a towering adult-sized Clementine, and cut back to Joel, in adult form, but still under-the-table-sized. The tiny Joel and the adult sized Clementine then try to stay in this hiding place as the Lacuna technicians try to zap them. And what we think we see isn't always what we see. The first twenty minutes start to make sense about halfway through the film.

I don't think the audience would have such patience with this story if the relationship between Joel and Clementine weren't so entertaining. It might be obvious to say that the central relationship in a relationship movie is key, but having unappealing characters can ruin an otherwise well-made film. For instance, I hated the movie "Annie Hall" both times I tried to watch it because I just didn't give damn about the two leads by the time the climax arrived. In "Spotless Mind," it's easy to see why a relationship blossomed between Joel, who is curious and witty but quiet and reserved, and Clementine, a spitfire who always must be the most entertaining thing in the room until she meets Joel. Jim Carrey found a wonderful vehicle to be understated in this movie. Kate Winslet turns in an unexpected performance as well --- playing both the take-charge girl of Joel's memories and the playful and insecure real-life Clementine. And the bittersweet ending seems natural and unforced --- a minor miracle given the machinations of the previous 90 minutes.

It turns out that this is the perfect date movie, if you bring a brainy date.

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