Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

[Faerl'Elghinn]

Holy crow... This film is excellent- intriguing, bizarre, funny, romantic, controversial and... just right. Man, I don't think I've seen a film that lit up my buzzer like this since Fight Club. What's more? Just check out the previews for Jim Carrey's next film A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Truman Show changed my perspective of Mr. Carrey, Man on the Moon earned him my respect, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind inspired my very confused, very trepidatious freaking UNDYING AWE of this man's acting ability. He really is cut out for serious roles, and you are seriously missing out, IMO, if you don't watch this film. It's one of the best films ever made... Please discuss and disagree if you must, but man- he's a regular guy who just has this uncanny ability to overcome his inhibitions and bite a huge chunk out of whatever he attempts. Jim Carrey, I tip my hat to you...

 

[Alzrius]

I liked the film, but apparently not as much as you.

I think it was a great display of Jim Carrey being given a role outside of the "silly guy" roles he's usually pigeonholed into, since he does a very normal, down-to-earth character exceptionally well here. Likewise, the premise of the film is very romantic, and executed quite well by the cast. Even the

Spoiler

sci-fi parts about being able to erase selective parts of peoples' memories

is done well.

That said, I just don't think this film is as great as Fight Club. That film was much edgier, and had several points that it seemed to want to get across, not to mention unexpected twist after unexpected twist. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, by contrast, had only one major twist at the end (which is somewhat usual for films), and once they started to lead into it at the end of the film, I was able to guess what it was.

Still, it's a great film, and I'd recommend it to anyone.

 

[tensen]

Majestic is the movie that made me change my mind about him... And then I went to go see Truman Show... since I originally ignored that movie knowing I didn't enjoy the stupid humor.

I walked into Eternal Sunshine without knowing which way it would turn out. I really enjoyed it... but it did take a few moments to decide that after the film. It was something.

 

[drnuncheon]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, by contrast, had only one major twist at the end (which is somewhat usual for films), and once they started to lead into it at the end of the film, I was able to guess what it was.

I was vaguely disappointed that it wasn't as twisty as I'd thought. I was expecting

Spoiler

that they had been through the cycle more than once, and kept making the same mistakes over and over

.

 

[Umbran]

I think it was a great display of Jim Carrey being given a role outside of the "silly guy" roles he's usually pigeonholed into...

I'm not at all convinced that he's "pigeonholed" into silly guy roles. I think he uses the silly roles that appeal to the largest audiences to pay the bills and keep his face recognizable, so that he does not have to worry about how big a box office hit the serious roles are.

Think about his more serious work for a moment - he's got Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Truman Show,The Majestic,Man on the Moon. That, right there, is more leading roles than most actors ever get, period. On top of that, some of his siller stuff (Liar, Liar,The Mask,Bruce Almighty) still has a quality core and depth. I don't see that the guy is getting pigeonholed at all.

 

[mojo1701]

I think he uses the silly roles that appeal to the largest audiences to pay the bills and keep his face recognizable, so that he does not have to worry about how big a box office hit the serious roles are.

In the words of Ben Affleck, "First you do the safe pictures, then you do the art pictures."

 

[Particle_Man]

I was vaguely disappointed that it wasn't as twisty as I'd thought. I was expecting

Spoiler

that they had been through the cycle more than once, and kept making the same mistakes over and over

.

I read a screenplay online that was more like you said. I guess Kaufman changed his mind, or someone changed it for him.

Spoiler

But maybe they were worried that the movie would drag on too long, or that it would get campy, a la "50 First Dates".

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

I've never seen it (I watch very few movies at all...which is odd because I used to manage a video store). It's just another in the endless ream of film out of Hollywood I have no interest in seeing. A friend of mine watched it last night, and she hated every second of it.

 

[Mr. Kaze]

It was a very good film -- a romantic version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead in a way -- if you disregarded the simple fact that the two lead characters were both fundamentally messed up people. She's an utter drunk with no obvious cause, solution, or apologies while he cheats on his fiance (and girlfriend of two years) to be with her and never tries to really explain why. Having those degree of character flaws kind of suppressed my sympathy for the characters: They may try again (and again and again) but they're wired for mutually assured destruction. And that realization -- that things wouldn't get much better for these characters regardless of how the film ended -- really nixed the long-term awe effect for me.

::Kaze

 

[Particle_Man]

Spoiler

but I thought part of the point of the film was that even memories of a bad relationship are better than not having any memories of that relationship, because some of those memories are good, and some of those memories are important. At the end of the film, the female lead realized that they were doomed, and the male lead agreed, but wanted the (doomed) relationship rather than having nothing of it to look back on.