Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

REVIEW
When every other TV ad offers a pill for the eradication of any conceivable physical and mental ailment, wouldn’t the next logical step be to zap the memory of sad thoughts? (Bad brain!) But just as with all those tablets of instant gratification (Side effects may include...), there’s a price to pay for immediate relief. Eternal Sunshine... takes place next week or next year, in a very familiar-looking future with overcrowded doctors’ offices, couples coming together and breaking up, and deception fueled by passion and desire. A new medical procedure erases specific memories and their attached heartache and grief. It also cuts off emotional experiences and eradicates the life lessons to be learned from them. Carrey and Winslet are two of several characters to have the procedure, only to once again engage in the activity they wanted so desperately to forget. Heading a very engaging cast, the two leads are cast most successfully against type as one pairing of protagonists. Carrey imbues his portrayal of Joel Barish with a sweet, vulnerable wistfulness diametrically opposed to his usual manic screen persona. You could make the case that this subtle characterization is his most accomplished performance to date. Winslet as Clementine Kruczynski, the apple of Barish’s eye, is modern, brittle, wounded, caustic and uncomfortably recognizable. Director Gondry takes masterful command of another sterling Charlie Kaufman screenplay (co-written with the director), successfully creating the fluid reality of dreams and the often ethereal nature of waking life. Eternal Sunshine is a meditation on identity, bonding, love and pain; and a cautionary tale reminding us that any technology can be misused under provocation of human greed, base need and obsession. At its heart, the film is a most unexpected, most deeply moving love story.