MOVIE REVIEW: "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004)

I’ve heard so much about this movie, since its release in 2004 it’s become quite an independent classic. The press and critics were all very positive and favorable towards the movie and it even won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay. Ergo: I had to see it.

The film starts off to quite an inconvenient scenery and some great music, when we get to see the very exceptional characters of Jim Carry and Kate Winslet meeting for the first time. However, there is some strange feeling in the air, both don’t seem to be in their best spirits. Soon there’s a twist in the story and we are introduced to the very unique nature and contents of this movie.

It’s about the company Lacuna, Inc. deleting people from your memory by your request. In “Eternal Sunshine...” Kate’s character Clementine let Jim’s character Joel be removed from her memory after a terrible fight and a down-phase in their relationship. As an act of revenge, Joel does the same. However, Lacuna’s team has a hard time achieving their mission and doing their jobs, as the process turns out to be quite complicated in Joel’s case. To know why and, watch the movie!

Basically, the main story line takes place in one room where the removal of Clementine from Joel’s memory takes place. However, we get to see lots of memories by Joel as well as Clementine, and in addition to that we get to know the employees of Lacuna who all add to the story becoming very intriguing (furthermore, they are all played by known actors such as Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Kirsten Dunst). As things get more and more complicated, the plot gets more and more exciting and the movie raises some quite intriguing ethical questions which are food for thought.

Negative points could be that the narrative is quite confusion sometimes, however, in the end everything should be clear to the average viewer who is willing to think a bit. Maybe there is even too much of awkwardness in the air from time to time, preventing us from being able to relate to the characters at some point.

Nevertheless, “Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind” is a very intelligent, creative, unusual movie and for that alone it ought to be applauded. However, what’s more is that the plot is very well executed and thought about by the writers. Behind the façade of a science-fiction movie (whose idea reminds of Inception by the way) there is also a very moving love story conveyed in this film. Two thumbs up!

photo sources: [imdb.com], [gointothestory.blcklst.com], [inquisitr.com] & [screencrush.co.uk]