Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Review

Don't be put off by that cumbersome title or the crazy plot because the latest weird and wonderful pic from "Being John Malkovich" scriptwriter Charlie Kaufman is his best and most satisfying film to date. A subdued Jim Carrey plays Joel, a decidedly average type of bloke who's more than distraught when he learns his ex, Kate Winslet's kooky Clementine, has had their whole stormy relationship erased from her memory. Thinking what worked for her could wipe out the pain for him, he hunts down the company that performed the operation, Lacuna Inc, and demands that they rub out all recollection of the doomed affair from his own grey matter. Trouble is, as the doc's laser makes its destructive way around his brain, Joel realises that however painful they may be, he's rather attached to his memories after all.

Needless to say with Kaufman and French director Michel Gondry on board, this is not your typical Jim Carrey pic. But unlike Kaufman's clever-clever "Adaptation" for example, its pretentiousness never gets in the way of a genuinely heartfelt story that detonates a bittersweet bomb right at the heart of romantic comedy conventions. And while the unshaven, make-up free Carrey is heartbreakingly convincing as the dumped lover, a special mention must to go to the brilliant Winslet - who manages to make a full-blown character out of a few quirky traits - and director Gondry, whose constantly inventive ways of showing you the inside of Joel's brain will make you gasp, giggle and wonder again and again. True, there's a sub-plot which you might not care to remember, but this visually stunning and actually rather romantic movie is a film you won't forget.