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I loved it. "This is it, Joel. It's going to be gone soon." "I know." "What do we do?" "Enjoy it." This dialogue between the two main characters of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Joel and Clementine, played by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet could apply to how I felt watching this movie just as easily as it does the fleeting memories of their romance. Kaufman has delivered a screenplay that fits in with his style, as seen in Adaptation and the other film he did with director Michel Gondry, Human Nature. It's creative, challenging, and the there are a lot of voice-overs, any fan of his work could tell this is Kaufman's work, and probably his best, thanks in large part to the directorial work of Michel Gondry. This Film is completely original while being an exceptionally enjoyable theatre experience. Eternal Sunshine is a love story, but a very unconventional one. Joel and Clementine, the two in the relationship, have a bitter break up. Clementine, in an impulsive act of anger gets her memories of Joel erased. When Joel discovers this through a mutual friend (played by the great David Cross) he decides to do the same, frustrated by not being remembered by the woman he still loves. During the procedure Joel realizes he does not want these memories of Clementine erased, much of the film takes place in the mind and memories of Joel. While he is reliving the memories of his time with Clementine he realizes he doesn't want to erase her and struggles unsuccessfully to save his memories by hiding within his mind. Although for a time it appears that they might end up together even afterwards, they then learn of their history together and Clementine decides to not pursue another relationship with Joel. Kaufman has written some great screenplays before but this is the first time it has really resulted in an exceptionally great and accessible film. For this he can thanks his maturation as a writer as well as the great directorial work of Michelle Gondry. This is their second film together, the first being the mediocre Human Nature, which was ambitious but just didn't work. Gondry really captured Kaufmans screenplay on the second try, in a way even Kaufman's other director of choice, Spike Jonze, has so far been unable to. Obviously, Eternal Sunshine, was a much stronger script then, Human Nature, but it was as difficult to create in film as any of Kaufman's work. Gondry, who has much more experience in mainstream American music videos (imdb.com) then films, did an amazing job of capturing this story. The scenes in Joel's mind while it was being erased were incredibly creative. Gondry is exceptionally talented at using light in his shots and shows off his ability in the shots where Joel's memories are being erased. He uses a spotlight to show the part of the memory that Joel still remembers while putting the rest in darkness. This is much more effective at showing Joel's rapidly deteriorating mind then any expensive special effects could be. He also uses bird's eye shots to show Joel's powerlessness against the erasing that is taking place despite his desire to stop it. Gondry shows off his impressive directorial skills in this film and hopefully it will open the door for him to do many more films. The acting of Eternal Sunshine is also phenomenal. Kate Winslet delivers her usual outstanding performance, this time in a great role, which makes her even more impressive. Most famous for her role in the Titanic, Winslet has appeared in many films, most recently in Finding Neverland alongside Johnny Depp. A great performance was not a surprise, even expected from an actress of her caliber. Jim Carrey's performance on the other hand was not as expected. Carrey is best known for his zany roles in comedies such as Dumb and Dumber, The Cable Guy, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. He has attempted a serious role before in Man on the Moon, the story of Andy Kaufman (imdb.com) and The Majestic. The actor that played Joel in Eternal Sunshine can not possibly be the same guy who was in The Majestic! Well it seems Jim Carey's dream of being a good actor, or at least giving a good performance has finally come true. Either he really got better since The Majestic in 2001 or he got fed up and sold his soul to the devil in return for the ability to act. Carey's really good in this film and his unusual comedic personality works well for him in his role as Joel, who himself feels out of place at times. While you can usually see Carey as the ultimate extrovert in his usual roles, Joel is completely introverted and this makes the performance even more impressive. Carey of course didn't get an Academy Award, which was unfortunately expected, but he did do a great job and I would love to see him in a serious role again if he could deliver a performance as good as he did in Eternal Sunshine. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a great film. Kaufman has always written great films, but they have never resulted in a film as accessible as this one. Gondry does a great job in creating the world in Joel's head, where much of the film takes place. His creativity as a filmmaker is unusual and should be embraced. I enjoyed this film tremendously, its probably my favorite and it really reveals something else every time it is watched, so I recommend seeing it multiple times.