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Stars:
Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten
Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, and Tom Wilkinson
Writer:
Charlie Kaufman
Based
On A Story By: Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gandry, and Pierre Bismuth
Director:
Michel Gandry
Feature
length: 108 minutes
Extras:
Writer and Director’s Commentary, A Conversation With Jim Carrey and Michel
Gandry, A Look Inside Eternal Sunshine Of Spotless Mind, Deleted Scenes, Lacuna
Infomercial, Music Video
Languages:
English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound and English and French
Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 20
Sound:
DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2004/DVD Release: 2004
Theatrical
Distributor: Focus Features
Home
Video Distributor: Universal Studios Home Video
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
“Eternal
Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind” is a poignant love story with a touch of sci-fi
thrown in to explore the meanings we attach to relationships with our memories.
Most of us, (myself included), spend our time either thinking of what we want to
do or fear will happen in the future or remembering something from the past.
These thoughts of the future could be hopes, dreams, or excitement like
anticipating something you want to happen and sometimes our memories are of
sweet moments that somehow seem more meaningful to us now than they did when
they actually happened. The same holds true for the fear and anxiety one can
have about something that can blind them to what action is happening to one at
this very moment. Painful memories related to relationships are a given in life
regardless if they are romantic or just something you might have done to someone
that you feel ashamed about now. These thoughts greatly mold our outlook on life
as well as what we attract as a result. However as hard as it is to be in the
moment of something, we sometimes do achieve a feeling of the sublime whether it
is something great or horrible.
In
an age where stem cell research is virtually banned in America, I can’t
imagine a company that erases painful memories being so accepted in modern
society that there is an office just a few blocks away like some specialist.
However times change and while there is a thematic undercurrent of regarding the
ethics of such a practice in “Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind” as it
relates to relationships, the film itself is really more of an exploration of
the reasons why people enter relationships with each other even if unconsciously
they both know it is doomed to fail. Woody Allen explored similar territory
without any slight sci-fi premise in his classic Academy Award Winning® film
“Annie Hall.” To paraphrase from the film as to why Allen muses we enter
into relationships, “we need the eggs…” In my own personal life I met
someone who I felt really clicked with me and I really like her a lot and I
suspect she likes me more than she will admit, but we are two people with as
many differences as there are also commonalities between us and I know
intellectually we may not be right for each other and yet in my heart I still
want her in my life and I don’t care if I get hurt. I think this element of
“Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind” is what appealed to me the most
because haven’t we all been there at one moment in our development?
Jim
Carrey is Joel, an average guy who goes to work every day like most people and
lives in an apartment and leads a pretty ordinary life. When he meets the rather
spontaneous and somewhat bohemian Clementine (Kate Winslet), they form a
relationship that compliments the quirks of their personalities and brings a
certain sense of stability to Clementine’s life while Joel experiences a kind
of free spiritedness he has never had in his life before. However they
eventually breakup and both experience the kind of emotional pain that only a
person who has ever been in love with another and then for whatever reason
experienced a broken heart can possibly understand. So when Joel discovers that
Clementine had her memories of him erased, he goes out and has the same
procedure performed on him. However during the process, he picks up information
about his former lover and the nature of those erasing his memories of her that
sends him on a quest through the deepest regions of his own psyche to try and
hold on to his memory of Clementine in spite of the force that is literally
disintegrating their world around him. For whatever faults the film might have,
in particularly the somewhat muddled ending, I think “Eternal Sunshine Of The
Spotless Mind” is a beautiful film worth discovering now that is has arrived
on DVD-Video courtesy of Universal Studios Home Video.
Presented
in an anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio that preserves the image
quality as close as possible to the way the film was exhibited theatrically,
“Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind” looks terrific with no visible
evidence of any deficiencies in the DVD picture quality. Colors remain deep and
solid throughout. The English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Soundtrack is
quite clear and well rounded with a higher fidelity than the well-mixed English
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack. A French Language Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround Soundtrack is also included along with English Captions for the hearing
impaired and French and Spanish Language Subtitles. Writer Charlie Kaufman and
Director Michel Gandry provide a thoughtful feature length audio commentary
track for the film that is supported well by a collection of clips from the film
segmented with scenes from a conversation recorded between Jim Carrey and Michel
Gandry about the film (15:36). A somewhat EPK like behind-the-scenes featurette
(11:33) is also included along with a reel of deleted scenes (7:03), a music
video for “Light & Day” by the Polyphonic Spree (3:03) as well as the
“Lacuna” infomercial (: 37).
The
menus are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate.
“Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind: Widescreen” is available on DVD-Video
now at retailers on and offline from Universal Studios Home Video. Do not forget
to check it out!
©
Copyright 2004 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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