Spotless Or Listless?

When I first saw Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind I thought it was cold.  The critics loved it and it won the Oscar for best screenplay, but the audience agreed with me.  I wondered was I just another filmgoer who can't help but reject Jim Carrey in a "serious" role (when you look at his grosses, it's like clockwork--a comic hit followed by a dramatic flop).

So I watched it again. I feel the same.  The film still has a great reputation, and many fans, but ultimately it doesn't quite work.

There are certainly a lot of good things in it.  Above all, Charlie Kaufman's clever screenplay, taking us in and out of the mind of Joel Barish, who's having his memories of girlfriend Clementine erased.  There's also a fine cast, including Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst, Jane Adams and David Cross.  And the subplot, about the goings on at Lacuna, Inc, the company that does the erasing, works really well.

But at the center of the movie is a love affair that's just not interesting enough.  First, there isn't much chemistry between Winslet and Carrey.  Carrey is on mute here, and his inwardness prevents much spark. (I'm not saying he's always got to be doing farce, but there are times he seems catatonic.) Worse, though the relationship is cleverly shown as it's being erased, all we get is a mosaic, mostly of happy moments and unpleasant moments. It doesn't add up to much and has little forward momentum.  There are a few plot shifts as Carrey resists the treatment and goes into odd memories, but too much of the film seems to be the same scene over and over--a small moment in a relationship that's about the be erased.

Admittedly, Kaufman, and director Michel Gondry, are going for something tricky.  Most romances are either about love triumphant or love tragic.  This is about something more realistic--love ambivalent.  Relationships often start with infatuation and eventually peter out as one or both get a bit tired of or annoyed with the other.  It's not a message people love to hear.  It's also a tale dramatists rarely tell, because, unless handled very well, can be quite boring.

I'm still glad I saw the film a second time.  The first time can be quite confusing, even if you know the basic plot, since for some time you're not quite sure where you stand.  The second time you know what's happening and can enjoy all the touches Gondry puts in.  But all I can say is if you're going to do a film about a relationship, even if you surround it with fascinating accoutrements, the romance itself better not be dreary.