movies like eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

Meanwhile, as all of this is going on in Joel's head, we follow Clementine as she tries to adjust to her new life, and get to know the people who are working on Joel, including Howard, Stan, Patrick, and their receptionist/nurse, Mary (Kirsten Dunst). (Here is where the film's inventive set design sparkles.) Somewhere along the way, he realizes that many of his recollections are too precious to give up, but, by that time, he is already committed. The story is told non-chronologically, with many of the more imaginative sequences being set deep in Joel's mind, as he invades his own memories to keep them from slipping away. But his memory proves to be a tricky place, because the past images of Clementine refuse to be cleanly expunged. Once Clementine has undergone this procedure to forget Joel, he decides to follow her lead. For a fee, he and his associates Stan (Mark Ruffalo) and Patrick (Elijah Wood) will eliminate all of an individual's memories of another person. Howard Mierzqwiak (Tom Wilkinson), a specialist in memory erasure. The break-up is abrupt and painful - so painful, in fact, that Clementine seeks the services of Dr. In the end, Clementine decides that Joel is too boring for her, and Joel concludes that Clementine is too needy. Their relationship ignites quickly, but the things that initially draw them together become hurdles and barriers. Joel Barish (Carrey) is a meek, unassuming man who discovers his perfect other half in uninhibited Clementine Kruczynski (Winslet). It's more of a Woody Allen kind of love affair, where the trajectory from beginning to end is bumpy and unpaved. Plus, this isn't a romance in the traditional sense of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets back girl. The writing is strong enough and the approach embodies ample originality for the effectiveness of the interaction to serve as an enhancement. That's not to say that there's no non-verbal connection between stars Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet merely that the success of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind does not rely upon it.

Without being too offbeat or esoteric, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind nevertheless manages to convey romance without forcing the mind to shift into neutral or dragging the characters through a formulaic structure where chemistry becomes the most important asset.

That's precisely what director Michel Gondry, working from a screenplay by Charlie Kaufman ( Being John Malkovich, Adapatation), delivers. A unique romantic comedy, unfettered by the normal expectations of the genre, is a rare and wondrous thing.

Movies like eternal sunshine of the spotless mind