Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
:: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ::
by William the Bloody
Joel and Clementine had a fight. It was a bad one, too. She grabbed all her stuff and pretty much up and left him. Days pass and Joel doesn't hear from her at all. Seeking to reconcile, he buys her a gift and goes to see her at work. Only... Clementine doesn't seem to recognize him. Is she just being cold? Joel goes to discuss her odd behavior with some mutual friends, only to find a telegram telling his friends that Clem has had all memory of Joel erased from her brain, and could they please refrain from mentioning him to her ever again? Looking for answers, Joel grabs the telegram and storms off to the business who supplied this bizarre service. They explain to him, that yes, it is indeed true, his ex-girlfriend has had him erased from her mind completely so that she could move on with her life. Joel is outraged at this and demands to have her likewise removed from his memories. The procedure is simple and painless, the bulk of which takes place while you're asleep at home, thus you awake the next day with no recollection of the removed memories or of having this work done at all. So that night Joel sleeps, and as he does, he relives his relationship with Clementine in reverse, starting with the bad breakup, as they are slowly but surely erased. As the erasure occurs, he knows that that is what's happening as it happens. As he relives Clem walking out on him, he calls after her "You're going to erased by morning, and you know what? I'm glad!!" But he starts to realize all too late that not their whole relationship was arguments and accusations. There are those times when they played silly games on each other, or went out on the peaceful frozen lake at night and seemed like the only people in the whole world, in other words, memories he would rather keep. Desperately, Joel clings to his memory of Clementine and drags her willy nilly through is mind, in repressed memories and childhood traumas, hoping that the memory eraser won't think to look for her there. Alas, this is not the case. And just like that, Clementine is gone. But then...
The Good: Let us once again reiterate that these truly romantic-ish films are kryptonite to my otherwise... ahem gruff exterior, causing me to break down in a blubbery, weepy mess. That is, if they're done correctly, and boy, this one ever is. This tale doesn't presume to be about that one, true love, but it is about REAL LIFE love. The bashful and introverted Joel (expertly played by Jim Carrey in a startlingly non-Jim Carrey-ish performance) falls for his polar opposite Clementine (Kate Winslet in a truly "wow" performance) in a volatile relationship which either clashes in a passionate love or heated argument. Director Michel Gondry comes through with some delightful visuals while inside Joel's mind, with his various thoughts overlapping in weird places, and his memory erasure. Writer Charlie Kaufman once again goes for the unconventional subject matter and really delivers. Naming Joel's girl "Clementine" was probably deliberate on Kaufman's part, as reference is constantly made to the song which she considers to "make fun" of her name. The lyrics "oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling, Clementine. You were gone and lost forever, oh my darling, Clementine," really hits home to the film's underlying themes, and it is played rather subtlety in various parts in the score.
The Bad: Some people may find this one to be "too deep" for them, and for that I am truly sorry. I never really liked Kirsten Dunst as an actress, but thankfully her part in this is small, and this is probably a personal problem I have with her. Elijah Wood's performance is not that great, either. He was probably sitting at home saying: "Meh! I made Lord of the Rings! I don't NEED this! Send them the Elijah Robot instead!" But that's just speculation.
I really, really, really enjoyed this movie. This one is most definitely worthy of multiple viewings, for the romance and sophisticated film lover alike.
A+
