Film: Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

[JerryBlunted]

I saw this the other day and was absolutely amazed. Great acting from all involved (and I'm usually not a big Carey fan), great plot, amazing cinematography, philosophical and psychological insight, a romance that isn't cheesy or a "chick flick," it had it all... best move I have seen in a long time.

 

[Shuba]

I just saw this, and was blown away by it. I would be very surprised if anything could top it for Best film of the year.
It was a difficult concept, and I think it was handled brilliantly. The acting was quality, it was visually spectacular. Totally charming
I'm a big fan of Kaufman's other films, but imo this tops it.
Eternal Sunshine > Being John Malkovich > Adaptation

 

[physix]

^^ it was released too early for BEST PIC nods, unfortunately.... it'll be forgotten by the time the nominations go into effect. Movies that are obvious Oscar wanna-wins are released alittle after summer and you can always tell when it's "fight for nominations" time...

 

[Dr. Funkenstien]

I have been hiding from this movie for sometime now. It looked really good but I was curious, would this be a good movie to see on shrooms? It looks like it bounces around like a wild ride with lots of colors.

 

[DigitalDuality]

**SPOILERS AHEAD**



Yeah but not really. What they give away is only the BEGINING of the end. Most viewers, when they figure out that their meeting at the BEGINING of the film was actualy their SECOND meeting, assume that they know how it will end... happily ever after and like you, they just wait for that ending to come around. Fortuantly, Kaufman is too smart to let his movie end like that, and he takes it a step further until they end up living, well... aprehensivly ever after.

I really don't see it even as a possibility of being "happily ever after". Unless they both sat down, listened to the tapes together and try to fix or avoid what went wrong. I see it more as jumping back in, into a relationship that they know is going to fail, because the experience of love--even if it ends painfully, is better than not experiencing it at all.

I thought this was a fantastic movie, but i do think once you knew the begining was the end, the movie did seem to drag on a bit. But it was so creative i didn't mind the dragging all that much. I definately think this is far better than say Adaptation or BJM.

I did get a good laugh at the theater though. Several couples, singles, whatever got up and left the theater. I guess they were expecting the typical romantic feel good comedy or some such nonsense. Carey always seems to take creative roles outside of comedy though. The Truman Show was fucking incredible.. and a good prediction of how far people would take television (reality tv). Man on the Moon was quite amazing as well.

 

[punch e punch]

***Minor spoilers***

Loved this film!!! Charlie Kaufman is my hero. This is instantly one of my favourite films!

I thought the whole memory-erasing/dream sequence was very well executed.
Also, I think the chronology mix-up thing kinda helps to wrap up the story, after the part that drags on in futility.

Great to see Jim Carey being put to good use. Even better to see him playing the opposite of Jim Carey!
Kate Winslet had the Clementine role down pat also.
I felt this film was, at times, more character study than romantic comedy. Besides, romantic comedies suck! :D

And the typical Charlie Kaufman absurdism is at it's funniest and cleverest in this film.
5 stars

 

[MouseOnMars]

I'm surprised no one's really mentioned gondry's direction. He takes these absurd concepts and visualises them to near perfection without sacrificing the main characters' warmth and charm. I love this film and expect to love it even more when I see it again.

 

[xtcvitality]

Anyone hear how they are testing some medications that can erase memories? Sound familiar?

 

[JerryBlunted]

yeah its called booze

 

[xtcvitality]

Ha, how true is that... but not exactly what i was talkin about

 

[L2R]

What a great film!
Michel Gondry is an expert in creating psychedelic imagery on film.

This exceptional production tells a doomed love story between two rather odd people AND uses amazing fx to portray a brain bending concept for a series of memory sequences yet still manages to be understandable to a wider audience.

As for the supposed "happy" ending, I've read that the original script ends in the semi distant future where an older Joel & Clementine are erasing each other for the nth time.
Reading this reminded me of the last shot of the movie with the couple playing on the beach, which loops 3 or 4 times. In the light of the above, this last shot implys repeated relationship failures & subsequent memory erasures.

I think this movie is perfectly suited for a bent/twisted audience. Will find out tonight.

 

[Chaos Butterfly]

Well I've just got back from seeing this and like most of the people in this thread, I loved it. No questions it is the best film of the year for me.

Now I usually can't stand Jim Carrey, but you can't not overlook that for this film. I was blown away with how amazing this film was. I think I'm going to have to go and see it again.

CB

 

[fairnymph]

film: eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

Forgive me if there is already a thread on this film but a search did not reveal one. Feel free to merge if there is one in existence...

I just watched this film at home last night. I didn't know much about it before watching it and I didn't have many expectations. The film takes a while to build up, but when it did, goddamn, it blew me away! With a combo of drama, love story, and a touch of sci-fi all rolled into a slightly wacky package, this movie is one of the best in recent years.

Stellar acting -- best perfomances I've ever seen by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, and nice showing by Elijah Wood as Patrick (completely un-Frodo like!). I always like Jim and Kate but in this film they really shone -- for once not typecast, they show their tremendous talent. Overall, the acting is fantastic.

The time sequence of the movie is a bit convoluted which creates a very interesting puzzle and storyline for the viewer. In general I like non-chronological time lines in movies and this film did it particularly well because it was NOT overdone -- just enough so that you couldn't quite tell if it was chronological or not until towards the end.

Much of the movie takes place in Jim Carrey's (Joel's) mind, which is fascinating and reminiscent at times of Being John Malkovich (screenplay was written by the same guy, Charlie Kaufman I believe) -- especially during memory sequences that went back to Joel's childhood.

The film wasn't a happy one though it does have a good ending; but while usually I don't like depressing movies, I was truly moved by this one. ESSM truly made me ponder memories, love, and human existence.

10/10

 

[dyscotopia]

yeah, there is another thread on this somewhere. i do concur though. that is the most profoundly moving film i've seen this year. jim carrey has always grated me (except for the truman show) but he totally became the character instead of relying on his trademarked routines.

being john malkovich was funny and clever and mind-bending but it didn't have nearly the emotional core of this film. it's a great date movie, but at the same time, even if you're single it's strangely uplifting.

 

[alasdairm]

merged "film: eternal sunshine of the spotless mind"

alasdair

 

[punch e punch]

I'm surprised no one's really mentioned gondry's direction.

Yeh, I've since realised that Gondry directed so many of my favourite music videos from over the last decade or so. He's quite the genius.

 

[Pounding_Grooves]

a bump for this fantastic movies dvd release.

 

[The Mexican]

rate this fim!

 

[alasdairm]

film: Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

^ that's my line!



alasdair

 

[MouseOnMars]

Hmm, interesting. If you like gondry's stuff check out his personal DVD. I found it invaluable inspiration.

click: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384700/