Jim Carrey’s quest for legitimacy as a dramatic actor has
yielded mixed results at the box office. Audiences flocked to The
Truman Show’s cautionary tale about reality TV, critics hailed
Carrey’s resurrection of Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon and both
contingents denounced The Majestic’s hollow nostalgia.
In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Carrey abandons his
sugary, slapstick humor to play a withdrawn loser trying to resolve
a failed romance. Dementedly humorous one moment and painfully
intimate the next, Eternal Sunshine is 2004’s first great film.
Joel Barish (Carrey) leads a fairly unremarkable life as a
nine-to-five wallflower before an irresistible urge leads him to a
Long Island beach. There he encounters a blue-haired rebel named
Clementine (Kate Winslet); opposites attract and the pair explores
their mysterious connection.
Flashback to Joel sobbing bitterly. Joel and Clementine’s
connection is the result of a two-year relationship that both of
them erased from their memories via an experimental brainwashing
treatment at Lacuna Incorporated. Clem underwent the procedure
first, and when Joel learned the terrible truth from the couple’s
mutual friends, he followed Clem’s lead.
Joel’s treatment goes awry when the staff of Dr. Howard
Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) mixes business with pleasure. Stan (Mark
Ruffalo) and Mary (Kirsten Dunst) frolick in the absence of their
boss, drinking Joel’s beer and smoking pot in his apartment while
he lies unconscious in his bed. A third assistant, Patrick (Elijah
Wood), further breaches professional integrity by dating Clem with
the help of Joel’s memories.
Outside influences aside, the real action occurs in the recesses
of Joel’s mind. Beginning with his most recent memories of Clem, we
travel backwards into their relationship as Joel’s recollections
are wiped away one at a time. Michel Gondry applies the visual
wizardry evident in his White Stripes music videos to full effect
on the silver screen. Joel’s memories unfold in stark clarity and
then slowly bleed away into a haze of obscurity. The cinematography
is startlingly original, stretching the medium of cinema to its
most experimental.
Striking visuals abound, but the secret to Eternal Sunshine’s
success lies in another fantastic script from writer Charlie
Kaufman. Joel is unlike any role that Carrey has played beforehand.
As Joel relives his buried insecurities, Carrey triumphantly
realizes Joel’s pain and joy in his relationship with Clem. Winslet
and Carrey exhibit genuine chemistry; the bond between their
characters is never questioned despite their fundamental flaws.
On the outside world, the dynamics among the Lacuna staff are
equally compelling. Time with the One Ring does not equal one role,
as Wood nearly steals the film with his sleazy character, finding
twisted humor in Patrick’s pathos of a man forced to live another’s
life. Dr. Mierzwiak hides secrets behind his facade of benevolent
humanitarianism, while Stan’s confidence masks his nagging doubts
about his clandestine relationship with the ambitious Mary. There
are no saints in Eternal Sunshine, and we empathize with the
characters for this very reason.
Eternal Sunshine is a shining example of the power of gripping,
minimalist science fiction. In an era where human beings can have
virtually any part of their bodies altered to their exact
specifications, Kaufman and Gondry ask what would happen if plastic
surgery were extended to the ugly parts of our minds. Between the
aching silences and gentle intimacy of a romantic relationship,
their answer is one of the most thought-provoking films in recent
memory.
Hipsters and intellectuals rejoice, your date movie has
arrived.
