Review: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Oh my Darling, oh my Darling,
Oh my Darling, Clementine.
You were lost and gone forever,
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
This movie was more serious than I had expected. And more complicated. The narrative was arranged in a non-linear fashion, which made me so confused. Apparently, the main story the audience sees is actually narrated in reverse chronology. For some reason, I thought of Rashomon, The Prestige, and Vantage Point while watching the movie because of the non-chronological storytelling style.

The two protagonists met in a train, not knowing that they'd met previously. In fact, they were in a relationship until the girl had her memory erased because she wasn't happy with the guy anymore. The guy was so broken-hearted that he had his memory erased too. The audience took a journey with him, sorting through his memories of the relationship as each one got erased while he was sleeping.

The side stories, protrayed by a star-studded cast, were interesting as well... but not enough to eclipse the fine acting of Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. This is only the second time I've watched Carrey in a film that did not include slapstick in it. The first one was The Truman Show. Really good actor. Winslet, on the other hand, played the quirky role very convincingly... and I've only seen her in more serious (or at least not quirky) roles before this movie.

What is it with the movies I am watching lately?!? Three movies (Inception and Transcendence), all with mentally challenging plots and story-telling techniques, in one month! What's next, Memento?

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