2008 Woodie Awards
Eternal sunshine of the spotless movie review
'Sunshine' is a clever movie making you wonder about wanting to erase bad memories
Date created: 4/5/04 Section: ENTERTAINMENT
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There's nothing ordinary about this uniquely whimsical movie whose concept revolves around a relatively simple question about whether one would be willing to erase the memory of a bad relationship or not. It's not your typical romantic comedy of today's standards where everything seems to fall into place so perfectly. The great thing about this movie is that the characters seem real because their characters have faults. It's taking a glimpse into a real relationship with all the good, the bad, and the ugly. The film is obviously not another movie fabricated by Hollywood that will end up with everything living happily ever after for the rest of their lives.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is the brainchild of Charlie Kaufman; Oscar nominated screenwriter for other films, such as Adaptation and Being John Malkovich. The movie itself is poetry in motion. In fact, the title of the film was taken from an Alexander Pope poem.
The man at the helm of all the madness is Director Michel Gondry best known as being a music-video director for the likes of Bjork, Radiohead, and The White Stripes. Gondry strays away from all the special effects that his colleagues seem to immerse themselves in and instead opts for the use of cinematography to create the world inside Joel's mind.
Jim Carrey veers from the kind of role which he is best known for, which would be for the rubber faced man who goes for the easy laugh, and instead opts to play the role of Joel Barish a shy, awkward cartoonist who somehow finds himself drawn to his polar opposite, free spirited Barnes & Noble attendant Clementine Kruczynski played by Kate Winslet. Winslet who also strays away from her usual role in period films depicts the role Clementine. Winslet brilliantly conveys in the movie both the brash nature of the character but also her vulnerability in being in the relationship, while Carrey makes you fall in love with an otherwise emotionally withdrawn character.
In an interview from Premiere magazine, the director relates what he wanted the film to convey. "There are three parts to the story. My idea was to show in the beginning the excitement of meeting someone. The promises and the sweetness and the possibilities of the future. Something is going to happen to make his life different. The sharp cut to after the breakup and what's left of the pain. Then start to explore what happened in between, which was the relationship."
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is the brainchild of Charlie Kaufman; Oscar nominated screenwriter for other films, such as Adaptation and Being John Malkovich. The movie itself is poetry in motion. In fact, the title of the film was taken from an Alexander Pope poem.
The man at the helm of all the madness is Director Michel Gondry best known as being a music-video director for the likes of Bjork, Radiohead, and The White Stripes. Gondry strays away from all the special effects that his colleagues seem to immerse themselves in and instead opts for the use of cinematography to create the world inside Joel's mind.
Jim Carrey veers from the kind of role which he is best known for, which would be for the rubber faced man who goes for the easy laugh, and instead opts to play the role of Joel Barish a shy, awkward cartoonist who somehow finds himself drawn to his polar opposite, free spirited Barnes & Noble attendant Clementine Kruczynski played by Kate Winslet. Winslet who also strays away from her usual role in period films depicts the role Clementine. Winslet brilliantly conveys in the movie both the brash nature of the character but also her vulnerability in being in the relationship, while Carrey makes you fall in love with an otherwise emotionally withdrawn character.
In an interview from Premiere magazine, the director relates what he wanted the film to convey. "There are three parts to the story. My idea was to show in the beginning the excitement of meeting someone. The promises and the sweetness and the possibilities of the future. Something is going to happen to make his life different. The sharp cut to after the breakup and what's left of the pain. Then start to explore what happened in between, which was the relationship."
