People who write reviews for a living would be in big trouble if it weren’t the fact that griping about faulty movies is far, far easier than writing praise for good ones. That’s mainly why I haven’t mentioned “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”:http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/, which I saw last week and found very fine indeed. Charlie Kaufman has finally come into his own. _Being John Malkovich_ was good fun, if not quite as clever as everyone gave it credit for, and _Adaptation_ was grossly overrated. But in _Eternal Sunshine_ all that Kaufmanesque reality-bending is done in service to the story, not as ornamentalism or coy self-reference. And what a sad, sweet tale it is, too: emotionally powerful while never devolving into sentimentality, and speaking the truth about every romance that’s ever lasted more than a couple of months.
And Kate Winslet: ho boy! She’s right back on my Top Five list after this performance. There’s a vacancy, too, ever since Kate Beckinsdale’s prompt ejection on grounds of Unforgivable Romanian Accent in a Film Trailer. Jim Carrey performs well, too, and there’s even room for his physical comedy in a way that, again, is done in service to the story and not just to See Jim Be Funny.
Definitely wins the B.M.S.F.T.Y. award.
3 comments
April 22, 2004 at 4:48 pm
jonathan
‘Adaptation’ was not, repeat, NOT grossly overrated. Oh, and you’re a big giant Twinkie.
So there.
April 22, 2004 at 4:54 pm
jonathan
Huh. That seemed needlessly harsh on retrospect. So I apologize. I did enjoy the film far more than you did, it would seem. I loved the conceit of Kaufmann writing about real people (the Orchid Thief and his biographer journalist lady) and have the tragic ending that never really was. And it launched Chris Cooper into the echelons of very good American actors for me.
April 22, 2004 at 7:51 pm
nate
Jonathan:
Your first comment was not needlessly harsh, because YOU’RE a big giant Twinkie.