Plot: What’s it about?
Another brainchild of Writer Charlie Kaufman is “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Kaufman has given us some of the more thought-provoking movies in the last few years like “Being John Malkovich”, “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” and “Adaptation”. More importantly, it stars Jim Carrey in a return to his more dramatic side. Like Robin Williams before him, he’s a great comedic actor who can also do drama, but hasn’t ever received a nod by the Academy (even a nomination) that he years for so badly. Carrey has shown his acting chops in films like “The Truman Show”, “Man in the Moon” and to a lesser extent in “The Majestic” to much acclaim. Then again, he can don a green suit and become “The Grinch” or even play God with little help from movie special effects. Imagine that. There must be something inherent in Carrey that makes him want to make us cry, because he can certainly make us laugh. What’s that old saying…”Dying is easy, comedy is hard”? Tell that to Jim Carrey.
The film doesn’t really follow a linear timeline, it doubles back on itself a few times not to keep us guessing, but to show what’s going on inside the mind of one seemingly normal man. Carrey plays Joel Barrish, an introvert who communicates better by scribbling in his journal that with the power of the spoken word. Ditching work one day, he heads off to Montack Beach (in February no less) only to meet a stranger by the name of Clementine (Kate Winslet). The two hit it off in their own way and the next thing we know, Joel has been informed that she’s had him “erased” from her memory. You see, there’s a company called Lacuna, Inc. that specializes in just that – erasing memories of loved and/or lost ones. Joel finds out that he’s been erased from Clementine’s memory (so to her, “they” never happened) and to exact revenge he decides to have the same thing done. And so it goes…to a point. Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) and his team (played by Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Kirsten Dunst) go to work on erasing his memories of Clementine only for Joel to discover that he doesn’t want to have the procedure done. He wants to squirrel away some of the memories as he starts to discover (on a subconscious level, no less) although things ended badly, he still wants his memories of Clementine.
The film raises a moral question of the sanctity of our own memories. Assuming the technology was readily available to have someone or something in your life erased – like it never existed – would you do it? It provides an easy escape for someone who’s just been dumped, fired or lost that special someone. But the flip side to this coin is this: do all memories, good and bad, serve a greater purpose? That’s to say: what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger? There’s no right answer, of course, but the movie stimulates the viewer to ponder the situation and that’s the point. Carrey and Winslet both turn in stellar performances here. Carrey and Winslet are an “odd couple”, to be sure, but both seem right at home here. About the only thing that really brings the film down is a sub plot concerning Dunst’s character and her relationship with Dr. Mierzwiak. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is a provocative movie that makes the viewer think and more importantly, feel. These are everyday characters going through what each and every one of us has either gone through or will go through. The only difference is that they have the choice to do something about it. The issue the movie suggests is…would we?
Video: How does it look?
This is now the third incarnation of the film in that it’s been previously released on standard DVD and the now defunct HD DVD format. I still own the HD DVD and used this as a basis for comparison to the Blu-ray release. To me, these transfers seem nearly identical. If I were to give an edge to one, it would be the Blu-ray as the color depth seems a bit deeper. The 1.85:1 AVC HD transfer looks sharp, though like the other versions of the film it’s not your typical glossy Hollywood movie. There’s still a bit of grain associated with some of the outdoor scenes, but by and large the overall look and feel is the same as it has been with the other releases. If you own the HD DVD, this is essentially the same exact transfer.
Audio: How does it sound?
The main difference between the HD DVD release and this new Blu-ray release is the audio. The HD DVD release contained a Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack whereas this Blu-ray has a new DTS HD Master Audio mix. There are some notable differences, mainly in the scene where it does a 360 degree spin around Elijah Wood’s character. Vocals are still strong and consistent, but there just seems to be a deeper feel and tone to this soundtrack in comparison to the HD DVD. Granted this isn’t a night and day difference, they’re subtle nuances, but this Blu-ray certainly gets the advantage in terms of audio quality.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This movie has now been on all three disc formats: standard DVD, HD DVD and finally it’s made an appearance on Blu-ray (no telling why it took so long). Fans of the film will either be pleased or upset to learn that the exact same features are present here as with the other two versions. The only real difference is that this disc is BD-Live enabled and features Universal’s “Pocket BLU†as well. That said, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” comes equipped with just enough supplements to keep us occupied (without overkill, of course). We get two featurettes, the first is “A Look Inside Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” which consists of the actors talking of their work on the movie, etc. Next is a conversation with Michel Gondry (Director) and Jim Carrey. Carrey seems to be back to his usual spunky self – essentially the polar opposite of his character in the film. Next up is the commentary track with Writer Charlie Kaufman and Director Michel Gondry. It’s a rather interesting track, but I found myself listening to Kaufman’s voice more so than Gondry’s mainly due to his thick French accent (hard to understand, you know). A music video by Polyphonic Spree is included (and it’s rather odd at that) as are some deleted scenes. Lastly, we find a commercial for Lacuna, Inc. which also features a fully-functional website www.lacunainc.com.
