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"How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd."

-- Alexander Pope, 'Eloisa to Abelard'

Most of the people I've spoken to that don't like Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind seem to criticize it primarily for the following reasons: 1) The film doesn't feature the usual arse-talking, trademark comedy style of Jim Carrey that everyone is used to watching for a quick fix of laughter; and 2) It seems to be just another pretentious punch-drunk love story, so far from the confines of reality, that it's not possible to ever take it seriously.

Those people are half right. Carrey certainly delves deeper into his abilities as an actor moreso than he has done in some of his earlier comedic roles. Not that I ever had a problem with Carrey doing comedy (admittedly, I've laughed numerous times at Ace Ventura and Liar, Liar), but he is undoubtedly giving a performance to impress the critics here, rather than to simply make his fans laugh.

As for the second point, yes, ESOTSM is concerned with the intimacies between a man and a woman, but the way the story is shaped is so emotionally mature and exceptionally inventive that it will impress even the most sceptical movie goer (providing he actually bothers to sit all the way through it, that is, rather than prejudging before he's even seen it). The film is hardly quite so conventional in its approach to romance as, say, Love Actually; with elements of drama and science-fiction, it is rooted firmly in reality, though with enough fantasy that will keep the viewer guessing about the fate of their human interactions.

Being the hard-nosed wanker that I am, I'll admit that I, too, was sceptical about seeing this movie beforehand. But I quickly discovered ESOTSM was nothing like a Huge Grant movie that I had expected. The plot is concerned with targeted memory loss, a (fictional) non-surgical procedure that a dysfunctional girl named Clementine (Kate Winslet) has undergone to erase the unwanted and painful latter memories she has of her quietly-reserved boyfriend, Joel (Carrey). After dropping by Clementine's place of work to give her an early Valentine's present, Joel is startled and confused as to why his girlfriend doesn't even recognise who he is, and begins questioning mutual friends for some answers.

Joel soon finds out that Clementine had become tired of dealing with his “boring” ways, and wanted to forget that they had ever met and fallen in love. So he marches into Lacuna Inc., the company responsible for Clem's a procedure, and demands that Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) erases his memory, too. Joel is instructed to go home and collect all the personal possessions that remind him of his time spent with Clementine, as these will help trigger the memories that the medical team (consisting of Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Kirsten Dunst) will target for termination. From there, director Michel Gondry attempts to illustrate the complex imagery of the subconscious using a variety of flamboyant filmmaking techniques.

The premise of being able to mend broken hearts in such a way is fascinating, but even if you strip away the science-fiction element of the film you'll notice that the characters seem very much real in how they interact with one another, still keeping ESOTSM separate from the conventional Hollywood love story.

Carrey, for one, just amazed me as Joel. His facial expressions and verbal communications are sharp, but toned down from his usual style, allowing the viewer to sympathise with him when he does try and escape the procedure, after realising he would much rather keep the memories of a broken love bond than lose them. Winslet, his opposite, comes across as annoying and unlikeable at first, but the sincerity in her voice when she talks about such things as her fears of being ugly as a child later on manages to tug on the hearts strings of the viewers, making them understand why Joel would fall for her and want to hang onto his memories. The supporting characters are also just as good; the subplot involving Ruffalo and Dunst makes for intriguing viewing as it echoes the main story.

In the end, the movie has a perfect balance of style and substance, and is very imaginative and very moving -- a product of Gondry's delicate direction and Charlie Kaufman's excellent writing. The story address the key point of fate: Two characters who have both had their memory erased meet each other seemingly for the first time and have the feeling that they are destined to be together. Not even technology can permit the natural connection evolving between these two people, and this is a testament to the power of raw human emotion.

ESOTSM gives faith to even the most heart-broken individual by expressing clearly, that in time, we'll each grow to treasure the minutes and hours we spend with someone special that we meet along our way. It's an incredibly heart-warming drama that I can't help but recommend to everyone.

(C) Andy Carrington, 2010.