Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (HD-DVD)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B Extras: C+ Film: C+
Michel
Gondry is a fine filmmaker and he has created images in commercials and
especially Music Videos that are some of the most memorable around. However, his collaborations with writer
Charlie Kaufman have been odder. Kaufman
is best known for his tricky scripts that have received critical acclaim, but
are no more than “postmodernism 101” and though not outright stupid, very
overrated and at least smug enough to sabotage their potential. Their 2004 collaboration Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind takes on the age-old heart
vs. head question in a semi-Science Fiction context with some additional
trickery.
Jim
Carrey plays Joel, who was once deeply in love with the beautiful Kate Winslet
as Clementine. However, he is shocked to
finds out “his darling Clementine” has had their love and relationship
scientifically erased from her memory.
Frustrated, he decides to try out the same treatment to really let go of
her, but as the creator (Tom Wilkinson) of this “memory cleansing” procedure
grants him his wish, he starts to have regrets as he tries to hold on to the
love of their time together and discovers that the meditative state is more
powerful than mere nostalgia.
Unfortunately, he may pay a high price in this deal with a scientific
devil.
I like
the idea of the story, but the material here is so serious that if you are
laughing, you are either ignoring or in denial of the true gravity of the
material, something you can only be so quirky with. The casting of Carrey brings with it an
unfortunate comedy context that in addition to his miscasting, hurts the film
in the long run despite interesting supporting work also including Mark
Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst and Elijah Wood.
In comparison to The Science Of
Sleep which is more realized, Eternal
Sunshine cannot overcome its own imbalances beyond the real world and ones
in Joel’s head. The idea of Clementine
and cyber/mental space as a new Wild West is another missed opportunity.
Ultimately,
it is an interesting failure by one of the most talented filmmakers around
still finding his own way though feature-length narratives.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image is better than expected, but the master
is a bit older since there are enough flaws to confuse certain aspects of the
visual split between the world of Joel and mortality which should not be a
problem with any HD format. Ellen Kuras,
A.S.C., does deliver visuals up to what one would expect from a highly visual
literate like Gondry. The sound is here
only in Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 (it was DTS and Dolby theatrical) that shows
this is a good surround film, but comes up short in fullness that any DTS or
Dolby TrueHD would have delivered. The combination
suggests an older transfer all around.
Extras
include deleted/extended scenes of interest, two separate Gondry interviews
with each lead (Carrey & Winslet), Gondry/Kaufman feature length audio
commentary, Polyphonic Spree’s Music Video for Light & Day (see their DVD-Audio album elsewhere on this site),
Lacuna infomercial, Anatomy Of A Scene segment on the Saratoga Avenue sequence, a
behind the scenes featurette and Inside The Mind Of Michel Gondry.
For even
more on Gondry, we strongly recommend the ever-stunning collection of his work
from the DVD release The Work Of Michael
Gondry, which you can read all about at:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/567/Work+of+Michel+Gondry+(Directors
- Nicholas Sheffo
