A man, Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend Clementine underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realizes that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake. Clementine while dealing with the after effects of the procedure must deal with new love and life after Joel. At the same time, the company hired to erase Joel's memory must keep themselves from falling apart. Keep reading for my review, beware of spoilers.
5 out of 5 stars.
Eternal Sunshine really is about the heart versus the mind. It asks a serious question that I am sure that many people have considered: if you could erase an ex-lover's memory in your head, would you? Is it even possible? Kaufman, who has written a masterpiece, addresses this question with a realistic, emotional, and personal touch. Gondry, the director, was able to paint a visual masterpiece to match up to the level of Kaufman. Together the message becomes powerful: the heart trumps the mind. You can try to erase memories all you want but love prevails in the end. Joel and Clementine, even with memories erased, end up finding each because the heart is the strongest muscle in the body no matter what anyone else says. Even the assistant and her doctor seem to find each other after they try to cover up their affair. It also asks a good question about relationships because even though Joel and Clementine break up, by the end they seem to be soul mates. So are they made for each other? How can you tell someone is your soulmate? And even the weirdest question, if people who erased memories each other then found each other again, should they stay together? Overall this film is really about love prevailing. You can try all you want to hide and run away but love will bring you back.
Really what impressed me about Eternal Sunshine was Jim Carrey. He was phenomenal in this film and I couldn't believe he had this much acting potential in him. He was emotional, funny, believable, and most of all I was rooting for him throughout the film. He helps prove that comedic actors are awesome drama actors too just like Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction. Winslet, as always, is able to bust out a powerful performance as Clementine and I do not think anyone else could pull it off as well. The supporting cast as well shines including Dunst, Ruffalo, and Tom Wilkinson. Also look for a surprise cameo by David Cross!
The other big star of this film is Gondry who effectively brings his vision and unique style to the big screen combined with Kaufman's originality. They seem like the perfect pair and balance each other out very well. Gondry was daring and experimental and it pulled off big time. Kaufman as well once again that when it comes to originality, you can't beat Kaufman.
I haven't met a person who didn't enjoy Eternal Sunshine and its a film that creates a lot of conversation after it. Its a film that ironically you will never forget, and especially a film that you need and want to see multiple times. 5 out of 5 stars.
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