If you could erase anyone from your memory, who would it be? A childhood bully? An unforgiving relative? Maybe an old boyfriend or girlfriend who meant the world to you?
In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, the concept of erasing, or being erased from someone's memory, is the basis for the bittersweet romance of a man trying to hold on to a relationship that once was.
Carrey plays Joel Barish, an average-Joe who decides to ditch work one day. He heads out to the Rhode Island coast while playing hooky and runs into Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet), an impulsive and quirky girl with brightly colored clothes and hair to match.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Directed by Michel Gondry. Rated R. Opens in theaters March 19.
After a volatile two-year relationship, Joel discovers Clementine has had the memories with Joel erased through a process provided by a company called Lacuna.
Feeling betrayed, Joel decides to go through the process as well. But, as the story unfolds backwards and the painful memories wash away, the more intimate and tender times the couple share are revealed. Joel realizes he never fell out of love with Clementine and fights to save his memories.
The movie also stars Tom Wilkinson, who is the inventor of the memory-erasing process. Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood and Mark Ruffalo play Wilkinson's assistants.
Eternal Sunshine was written by Charles Kaufman (Being John Malkovich) and directed by Michel (pronounced Michelle) Gondry.
Although this is not Jim Carrey's first time in a drama, it is the first time he has contained his abundance of humor and energy. His calm demeanor is believable and the bittersweet tone of the movie doesn't allow for more than a few one-liners.
"I never want to be humorless, but I didn't feel the pressure to be funny with this movie," Carey says at a junket in Los Angeles. "My character didn't call for it."
Kate Winslet is the true star of this movie. Clementine is a far cry from her more regal and refined roles that have earned her Oscar and
Golden Globe nominations. Clementine shows Winslet can be funny, kooky and loveable all at the same time.
One memorable line reveals her character's toughness and vulnerability at the same time.
"I'm just a fucked up girl who is trying to find her place in the world."
She does a good job of being neurotic but not downright insane.
"To prepare for the part, I familiarized myself with the script, however; it wasn't until I was in the costume and had the different hair colors, which were key, that I really felt the character," Winslet says.
Kaufmann is known for his artsy and reality-bending screenplays and named the movie after a line in an Alexander Pope poem.
The beauty of movie lies in the photography and cinematography. Although many sequences were shot in front of a green screen, Gondry implemented some unconventional camera techniques.
"There is this scene where I had to be in two places at once and Michel makes me do one part where I'm sad and displaced, and then I run around the camera and in two seconds have to change my mood to hysterical," Carey says. "It was insane!"
One of the movie's faults was casting a younger Hollywood crowd of Dunst, Wood and Ruffalo as lab assistants because they look way too young for the parts. Luckly, Gondry used their side stories sparingly.
The unconventional movie may not appeal to the masses, but when asked what would entice college students to come see this movie
Carey immediately responds: "Spiderman's girlfriend!"
"And, the hobbit," Dunst adds.
Reach the reporter at rekha.muddaraj@asu.edu.
