Story: A+
Acting: A+
Directing: A
Visuals: A
Genre: A+
Final: A+
Rated: R ****
Writer: Charlie Kaufman
Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffallo, Elijah Wood, & Tom Wilkinson
Focus Features
Joel Barish(Jim Carrey) is a closed mouth, boring, one type character whose life is thrown out of proportion when he meets the beautiful and seductive Clementine Kruzynski(Kate Winslet). Clementine is a rambuncious, crazy, foul mouthed woman who stole Joel's heart.
Soon enough though, their relationship ends on a sour note as anger devours them both. Joel soon finds out that Clementine has used a brand new product for the "focused erasure of troubling memories" and erased Joel forever from her mind. Joel decides to undergo the procedure as well as a way to say, "Well I hate you too."
During this process we meet Dr. Howard Mierzwiak(Tom Wilkinson) who invented the procedure, Mary Svevo(Kirsten Dunst) who herself underwent the procedure and has an interesting history and interesting part to play, Stan(Mark Ruffallo) and Patrick(Elijah Wood) who themselves adminster the treatment of the procedure. Stan and Mary are party animals during the film as Patrick goes off with his girlfriend none other than Clementine.
Through Patricks antics of trying to keep the heart of Clementine by repeating Joel's words which were written in his journal and ripped out and taken by Patrick, Clementine realizes many things and starts on her way back to remebering the erased memories.
Though the procedure is finished and Joel and Clementine still don't remember each other they meet again and fall in love. Soon Mary does something bad which causes an interesting encounter between Joel and Clementine who find out that they underwent the procedure. Through what they said on recorded interviews about each other, they realize they were meant to be and it ends in such a beautiful moment as they run accross a snow covered beach towards the house they first met in.
This is the most emotionally moving film of the year. Kate Winslet's performance is easily the best of the year and is in lead contention for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. Jim Carrey is perfect as Joel the mumbling, quiet type which Carrey hasn't played up until now. Mark Ruffallo and Elijah Wood give very good performances because they both come off the way their character was written. Elijah a jerk, and Mark a party animal who doesn't know when to stop. Kirsten Dunst is perfect especially in her scene of revelation. The crying is so real and so perfect you really have to smack yourself to realize it's fake.
Michel Gondry's innovative techniques on this film have made it a visual feast and the script is nothing less than extroadinary.
Though confusing if you don't pay full attention, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is the most heartwrenching, gut turning, and romantic film of the year. The best by far.