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Carrey not his usual self in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Anyone who knows me knows how much I despise Jim Carrey movies. His comedies
are lame and senseless, and his dramatic films are, to be kind... “overly sympathetic.” I
scoffed at The Truman Show, and laughed my ass off at the eccentrically good natured
Majestic , but I must say, his new film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is pretty
damn good. Needless to say, my hopes were not high as the lights dimmed and Jim
Carrey’s name flashed on screen, in fact, to be completely honest, I was ready to trash
the hell out of the film. Much to my cynical surprise though, Carrey’s performance was
muted, fitting, and devoid of any annoying “rubber face” expressions.
Carrey plays Joel Barish, a down and
out sensitive male whose thoughts arf
monopolized by a bruised and blood;
heart. His ex-girlfriend, Clementirii
Kruczynski, a spunky little “riot girl,
played outstandingly by the adorabl
Kate Winslet (love chics with blui
hair), acts as if she doesn’t even kno'
him. Joel finds her behavior to be mini
bending and he soon finds the reason
behind her actions and his madness.
She was a client of Dr. Howat
Mierzwiak, played by Tom Wilkinsoi
He is a specialist in the art of memoi
erasure, a process by which select!
memories can be erased from one
consciousness. Tom, and unable .
move on, Joel decides to undergo the
process himself. With the help Howard’s assistants, Elijah Wood and the hilarious Mark
Ruffalo, Joel begins the process of Clementine elimination.
The plot may sound a bit simplistic, but the film is not. The majority of screen time is
spent prancing through Joel’s memory bank in search of anything related to the “ex.”
The structure is mentally exhausting, yet fascinating, and completely appropriate for the
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subject matter. Stop for a second and
think about your own head and what it
would be like to travel through that
maze...yeah quite a thought. The film
goes backwards, forward, loops
around, and spins like a rollercoaster.
It is like Memento, except it’s maxed
out, cracked up, and totally f*#ked. I
loved that.
I don’t mean to make it sound like
the film was “all that and a bag of
chips” (Sony for *e nineties clichti) E|ijah WoQd |eft erforms we ,| as
because it does have some 1 r
issues. Eternal was written an assistant to a doctor Who Spe
by Charlie Kaufman (Being cializes in memory erasure. Carrey
John Maikovich and (right) becomes a client of the doc-
Adaptation) who is a master jp the movie
when it comes to the oddities
of storytelling. His style is very much in your face and always about the writ
ing itself. When you focus more on the writing and structure, you lose charac
ter. You never quite feel close enough to Joel, or Clementine for that matter,
which is sort of weird since the film takes place inside a characters brain. Can
you get any closer? The audience is kept at a distance, and that is a result of the
structure and style. I’m not saying that is a bad thing, the whole deal is sort of a
trade off. Do you want to see a film and say, “Wow, that was nuts, I loved it,”
or do you want to say, “Wow, I really felt for those characters.” Most people can
relate to Eternal on an emotional level and in a way be envious of the memory
cleansing technology, and there are individual scenes that flip your gut, but the
overall picture comes off a bit cold.
In the end though, you should appreciate the creativity and complexity of the film.
Thinking about writing that, or directing it, just about makes my eyes roll back and my
brain explode. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is not a movie for the passive
audience. It is challenging and requires a lot of work, much goes by without notice
because you’re trying to sort things out. It’s almost like watching a foreign film with
out courtesy subtitles.
Radio Club
If you like Usher, you should like his latest album,
Confessions. It’s a new album, but sounds like the
same old Usher. He uses typical old-school Boys II
Men styling - splicing together some pop and R&B.
Confessions lacks orginality and freshness. But,
don’t be too discouraged. Fortunately, his mixture
creates something for every mood. It opens with a
song called “Yeah!” featuring Lil’ Jon and Ludacris,
which is very upbeat. He has slow songs for those
who may be down or just looking for something
Borrow or Sm. aI It, Don't Buy It***
loR R i
I've: I h arc! worse: **
I would PRobAbly Buy It ** * *
slower paced like “Take Your Hand” and “Caught
Up.” And, although he is repetitive, Usher can still
keep a beat and keep it lively. Confessions debuted
at #1 this week and if Usher remains true to the past,
it will stay at #l. But, to stay on top, Usher will need
to come up with something new and polished next
time around. This album is definately a don’t buy.
If you see it laying around and you are bored, grab it
and listen, otherwise leave Confessions on the shelf.
Ke: v
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