Reviews of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" by The Four Bastards


Hot Chick:  Kirsten Dunst

Hot Chick Factor: 9

Synopsis -- Joel Barish, played by Jim Carrey, finds out that his ex-girlfriend (Kate Winslet) has undertaken a procedure to erase their two-year relationship from her memory! In a sort of whimsical "screw you too" decision, he decides to erase her as well -- but then changes his mind. Is it too late?

Short declaratory phrase in an attempt to get quoted in TV trailer, ad, or cover box --

"This movie has it all: drinking, drugging, and Kirsten Dunst dancing around in her underwear whilst doing the aforementioned! Yowza! It's great fun at the movies!"


Nate's review:

Man, I partied like a rock star this weekend, and I'm still alive! But before that, I went to see "Eternal Sunshine." I thought this film kicked all kinds of various ass. This Charlie Kaufman cat is one hell of a son of a bitch, and his movie is a rare example of a brilliant idea that doesn't get bogged down by one or more of its parts somewhere in the filmmaking process, and is rather enhanced by the contributions of its various elements. Everything about this film works, from the screenwriting (obviously) to the direction (Michael Gondry appears to have created a cinematic space in which the actors are free to get a little crazy), to the cinematography, to the editing, to the music (starting out jarring and almost cartoony but progressing to a perfect subtlety by film's end), to the acting (Carry and Winslet are perfect, as is Wilkinson, and you gotta love David Cross), to the set design, etc. The concept of non-linear narrative, while not new, is used in a way here that is neither extremely disrupting to the viewer, nor an unnecessary "I'm hot shit" gimmick of sorts. It is the perfect way to tell this particular story. The extensive use of hand-held camera, while a little disconcerting at first (especially if you're sitting close), works to underscore the uneasiness and instability of the character's mental and emotional conditions. The use of hand-held and harsh, rather unforgiving (at times) lighting is usually attributed to the device of giving a film a real, "documentary-type" look, but I didn't really get that from watching this. Instead, it seems more impressionist than realist, but maybe I'm reading too much into it. Additionally, the questions raised about the nature of love and the human curiosity surrounding it make for even more discussion, but I won't spoil it further. I could have watched this movie for 10 hours and I could write about it for much longer, but I will save you all from my boring adorations and just say go see it and then buy it on DVD when it comes out, because, as I said, it just kicks that much ass. Now, where's the Advil?

Rating: 9.5 out of 10 escaped zoo animals running amok in the city

Jason's review:

Jason has yet to review this film.

Ryan's review:

Ryan has yet to review this film.

 

Tim's review:

Tim has yet to review this film. Whatever!


Back to Reviews