November 02, 2006

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This movie is a must watch. At least twice.
If you can, try to see it on a big screen. The full effect of the camera's/editing team's genius will hit you better. The unlikely combination of Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey actually works; though Kate as Clememtine is brilliant in her portrayal of an impulsive and somewhat eccentric yet loving girlfriend to Joel, Jim as Joel does not come up to the same mark. Make no mistake, his portrayal of an insecure, shy guy is brilliant, yet you can often see glimpses of the volatilely funny characters he's played so far.

Here's a plot that's really original. Clementine and Joel have been seeing each other till Joel makes a particularly hurtful comment and Clementine in a fit of anger and pain, decides to erase him from her memory. I mean literally! Through a non-invasive medical procedure. When Joel finds out, he determines to do the same, but during the process, he has a change of heart and tries to cling to his memories of Clementine. But the procedure barrels its way through his subconscious and eventually all memories of Clementine really do get erased. Then God (what, Fate, who?) gives them another chance. You really don't know what's going to happen until the very last minute.
This movie deserves as Oscar! If you saw Crash and thought it deserved Hollywood's highest accolade you'll change your mind after watching ESSM.I know I did. The story has a very strong lesson too, something that we all know but have oftentimes had to learn again— that only through the process of loss do we discover what we had.
The ending sound track 'Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes' by Beck Lyrics sums up the movie beautifully:
"Change your heart
Look around you
Change your heart
It will astound you"