There are many movies one hears described as a "mindf--k," but rarely is the term taken as literally as it is in Michel Gondry's brilliant collaboration with writer Charlie Kaufman called Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which was the follow-up to Gondry's debut film Human Nature. The screenplay was so crazily original that it won Gondry, Kaufman and Pierre Bismuth the Academy Award back in 2005.
The movie's title is from an Alexander Pope poem about tragic love, and that's what this film delves into. Jim Carrey reminds us once again of his great dramatic capabilities in the role of Joel Barish, a withdrawn man who finds himself inexplicably drawn to a green-haired impulsively free woman named Clementine Kruczynski (the always, always fantastic Kate Winslet). Neither of them recall that they used to be lovers for two years, thanks to a huge fight they had that prompted Clementine to go to Lacuna, Inc. and get all her memories of the relationship erased. Joel was devastated when he found his out, and underwent the same procedure - but partway through the process, his mind rebelled and struggles to hold on to the love he treasured so much. We bear witness to this fractured mental landscape and how Josh tries to outrun the brain damage he's brought upon himself. Meanwhile, the employees of Lacuna supervising the procedure - the two tech goofs (Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo) and the head of the company (Tom Wilkinson) and his assistant (Kirsten Dunst) - have a lot more going on in their world than just this one man's targeted erasure.
It's captivating, amazing and full of observations about the nature of love, remembrance, relationships and whether or not the pain of loss is a price worth paying for the precious experiences of life.
"Too many guys think I'm a concept, or I complete them, or I'm gonna make them alive. But I'm just a fucked-up girl who's lookin' for my own peace of mind; don't assign me yours."
Watch this movie now.
Watch the trailer for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
