Much discussed (eg, see here), Michael Gondry's second feature-length film (trailers here), a collaboration with the esteemed script-writer, Charlie Kaufman, has been on release in America for about a month and has been reviewed by the NYT:
The mournful, paranoid quality of Eternal Sunshine, which opens nationwide today (19.3.04), especially brings to mind REM's "South Central Rain": "The city on the river, there's a girl without a dream," which turns out to be literally true later in this film for Clem (Kate Winslet). Clem is the brash, loquacious bookstore employee who meets Joel (Jim Carrey) as he wanders the streets alone on Valentine's Day — a self-consciously poignant conceit if ever there was one. The two of them fall in love under a glum, flannel cloud cover that could use some eternal sunshine. ... Mr. Gondry and the superlative cinematographer Ellen Kuras mock the title by setting the film in a wintry suburban New York and using as many available light sources as possible. A shot of Joel and Clem flat on their backs on a frozen lake is an awe-inspiring piece of visual magic, both romantic and conceptual; they'd both like to freeze the moment. It also captures the differences between the two; Clem had to coerce Joel out of his shell, and he doesn't bother to cloak his resentment until he joins her. ... Joel's growing infatuation with Clem is bruised when he finds that she's had all memories of him erased from her mind. Devastated, he goes to the inventor of the process, Dr. Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), for the same treatment. When the heart-sick Joel asks if the procedure causes brain damage, Dr. Mierzwiak replies, "Technically, it is brain damage."Mr. Kaufman sets much of the film's second half at Joel's apartment, where the technicians Stan (Mark Ruffalo) and Patrick (Elijah Wood) are giving Joel's mind a Clem-bake, eliminating all traces of her. ... This entire section is breathtakingly realized, melting several bad dreams into one, and Mr. Gondry's swift, improvised direction bleaches the portentousness from the conception. It succeeds so completely that we understand why the director's music videos — especially his work with Bjork and the White Stripes — work so well. He can define contradictory emotions with extraordinary clarity and alacrity. It's why he's so suited to handling much of this particular Kaufman script.
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