Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

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External Reviews

"Sunshine" (like all of Kaufman's films) poses a lot of questions about the meaning of life and the role of fate. (It also evokes the devastating tragedy of Alzheimer's disease.) But, at its heart, it is an amazing love story, not because its participants are all that extraordinary, but because it has the courage to show the affairs of the heart, warts and all, in all their fragile glory and mundane banality. 

Quite frankly, this picture is an instant classic and will go down as one of the best if not the best movie Jim Carrey ever did. It's not an easy movie to review without giving away important plot points and reveals because the film really is a Chinese puzzle box, but as you're watching it and you think you know how it's going to end, know that the filmmakers are a bit smarter than that and, yes, there are still a bunch of secrets and tricks up their sleeves. 9/10

-- (CHUD.com)

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The film is not for everyone, it doesn't follow a straight line, it gets a little pretentious and arty-farty at times, and definitely gears into the realm of the esoteric rather than the tangible, but I like stuff like that sometimes and if you too are looking for something a whole lot different than 50 FIRST DATES as a romantic movie date alternative, you're likely to appreciate this movie as well. 7/10

-- (JoBlo.com)

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Mr. Carrey finally understands that he needn't cut a character off from pleasure, and so his Joel Barish is serious rather than anestheticized. But this angular and intelligent romantic comedy isn't entirely consistent. Even as you laugh, it's a movie you admire more than love. 

--ELVIS MITCHELL (The New York Times)

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This is unlike any other film I have seen. And, although I value originality in motion pictures, the primary reason I'm recommending Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with so much enthusiasm is because it's a great romance. It's willingness to flout conventions and eschew formulas is just one of many things to celebrate about this charmingly eccentric movie. 

-- (ReelViews)

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Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is a desperately moving ode to romance. Why do the filmmakers undercut its power with a bag of ironic tricks?

-- (Salon)

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The movie is a radical example of Maze Cinema, that style in which the story coils back upon itself, redefining everything and then throwing it up in the air and redefining it again. 

--ROGER EBERT (Chicago Sun-Times)

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Neither wholly cynical nor wholly romantic, Kaufman's story is a balance of smarts and sentiment. It's the most fully realized working out of his two favorite obsessions: the subjective nature of experience and the psychological mysteries of pair bonding. Like the lovers in "Human Nature," "Sunshine's" Joel and Clementine are guided by their synapses and hormones, but it is the willfully amnesiac heart, which forgives what it can't forget, that sets the true course of love.

--Michael O'Sullivan (Washington Post)

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There is so much that is both right and touching about "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," including Carrey's most naturalistic performance ever and the earned sentimentality of Kaufman's view of relationships, that a sympathetic viewer can be forgiven the fanciful desire to follow a viewing of this film with a brief visit to Dr. Mierzwiak's memory erasure facility. 

--Ray Greene (Boxoffice Magazine)

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Michel Gondry's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," which is about the erasure of painful memories, is so full of original ideas, imagination, invention, fantasy and emotional truths it will wash your blues away. It also contains the best performance of Jim Carrey's career. 

--Jack Mathews (New York Daily News)

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A bold and venturesome trip down memory lane as only writer Charlie Kaufman could imagine it.

--Kirk Honeycutt (Hollywod Reporter)

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Written by

Jim Carrey The Truman Show, Dumb & Dumber, Bruce Almighty Kate Winslet Titanic, Finding Neverland, Sense and Sensibility Charlie Kaufman Being John Malkovich, Adaptation., Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Michel Gondry Human Nature, The Science of Sleep, The Work of Director Michel Gondry

Cast

Jim Carrey The Truman Show, Dumb & Dumber, Bruce Almighty Kate Winslet Titanic, Finding Neverland, Sense and Sensibility Elijah Wood The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Mark Ruffalo Collateral, 13 Going On 30, Windtalkers Jane Adams Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Wonder Boys, Happiness David Cross Men in Black II, Scary Movie 2, The Cable Guy Kirsten Dunst Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles [more]

OK, so it's hard to remember the exact title. Nevertheless, with its thoroughly original look at love, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (yes!), will leave an indelible impression.  --Kit Bowen (Hollywood.com) This is a very creative and clever film with some good performances and some terrific imagery. 8/10 --David Trier (Movie-Vault.com) The highest compliment I can pay Sunshine is that it makes complete sense from start to finish – high praise indeed for an idea this convoluted.  --Sean O'Connell (FilmCritic.com) Charlie Kaufman crafts a romantic comedy in Jim Carrey’s head, but by the end we’re the ones in love.  --Derek May (MovieWeb) ESOTSM is a film whose full potential is never realized. While it offers a unique storyline, it never expands beyond the initial idea and plods along with camera tricks and a few plot twists that are interesting enough at first, but, in the end, aren't enough to make ESOTSM anything worth remembering. C --Ginger Vaughn (MovieJustice) This is one of those elusive movies that are utterly original, brilliant and complex.  --Kevin N. Laforest (Montreal Film Journal) Just four words can sum up "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind": Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman. --Paul Clinton (CNN Showbiz) If you're a fan of Kaufman's previous work, all I can say is, buckle up for one hell of a ride that will leave you joyful, yet dizzy and in awe of Hollywood's god of originality.  --Brian Gallagher (MovieWeb) If Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mindis boundlessly original and fascinating, a film not quite like any other ever made, it nonetheless has trouble reaching the lofty heights of either Being John Malkovich or Adaptation.  --Dustin Putman (The Movie Insider)

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