Movie Reviews
Jim Carrey plays Joel, a guy who doesn’t like who he is but doesn’t have the courage to change anything about himself. That beginning scene, where even the most patient of people may think about leaving, is on a train where Joel means Clementine, played handsomely by Kate Winslet. But they are the precise reason we keep holding on during that boredom-stricken timeframe. They hold it together with full force, and they make it work in such a way that it sets up the oddity of the rest of the film as a whole. It’s subtle preparation for what is to come.
So, what is to come, exactly? Well, as a critic, I’d never dare to step the line of giving away the film without fair warning, so I’ll tell only what is necessary. The film is mainly about a company called Lacuna which specializes in erasing bad memories. You simply walk in, tell them a horrible part of your life (anything), and they erase it. In some point during the film, Clementine wants to destroy the part of her life that involves Joel’s relationship with her for any number of reasons. He finds out, and his angered curiosity leads him to Howard Mierzwiak, head doctor at Lacuna. They discuss what happened and Joel decides to get revenge and erase any memory of Clementine. However, revenge is not so sweet.
The procedure involves bringing in any and every object that even partially reminds them of the memory, and tossing it. Then, Joel’s head is hooked up, and the “doctors” go in. The last half of the treatment takes place at patient’s house and a couple of Lacuna fellas finish it up while Joel sleeps.
“Eternal Sunshine” gets really weird right about here. At first, the strangeness is so abrupt that we have absolutely no clue what is going on. But if you pay close attention and follow as best as you can, this becomes a journey through the mind that somewhere reaches a heart. This is a film that is as funny as it is emotionally heart-breaking; a film that isn’t intense at all, but catches us holding our hands at the screen telling the main characters to “Run faster!” This is a great film.
While Joel dreams, he goes through the memories of the past that he loves. That love pushes him to stop the treatment before it completes itself. He chases himself through his dreams. This is where “Sunshine” becomes something that it hadn’t been before. It becomes a film with directing that floats on wings and cinematography that is so amazing that we need to rub our eyes even when there are no special effects. This is a work of art. ****