Campus Chronicle

Issue date: 3/29/04 Section: Arts & Leisure

(U-WIRE) SAN DIEGO - Creating a fantasy world on film requires a combination of imaginative writing and innovative directing. Without the right script, the visuals are just eye candy. And without an enticing visual aspect, the script lacks any appeal.

In the case of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, both elements balance one another out, resulting in a well-written and visually beautiful film. Adaptation scribe Charlie Kaufman wrote the script of the so-called love story in reverse, in which Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) visits Lacuna Inc., a company specializing in selective brain damage, and chooses to have memories of his girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) erased. However, halfway through the process, Joel realizes he doesn't want to forget about her. He fights to retain his memories, while Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) and one of his technicians (Mark Ruffalo) attempt to get the memory-erasing process back on track.

Director Michel Gondry, best known for his White Stripes Lego animations and Bjork's giant, menacing teddy bear, brought Kaufman's script to life. With a combination of unconventional directing techniques and willingness to try new approaches, Gondry transformed Kaufman's sci-fi love story into a fantastical cinematic wonderland.

"Michel definitely flouts convention," Carrey said. "This was different than anything any of us have ever experienced. He didn't want to say 'action' or anything."

One unusual aspect the French-born Gondry brought to the table was a hands-off approach that Carrey described as "passive-aggressive genius."

"I'm always trying to be very invisible as a director," Gondry said.

Winslet, who stars in a very atypically unrefined role, said Gondry would leave the camera running for long periods at of time, requiring her to stay in character at all times - just in case.

"Every day there was something new," Winslet said. "There would be a touching love scene and Jim and I would be in a forest. Michel would just say 'let's do something wild.' And that kept everything fresh and very real."

One scene in particular that displays Gondry's stunning visual style has Carrey watching himself be treated at Lacuna, putting him in the same scene twice. It was done without the aid of a split screen or computer graphics. In order to pull it off, Carrey had to run back and forth between hand-held cameras, changing costume each time.

"Ideas came in every day and they were always different and always challenging," Carrey said. "The camera's twirling in a circle, and I'm in two different places at the same time. When we actually did it, we argued for 10 minutes then we did it. It was like old-time show business. Everybody, when we were done with the scene, would run down the hall to the video monitors to see if we pulled it off, and everyone would just cheer."

Gondry convinced Carrey to do the scene, despite doubts about the physical possibilities, owing much to his "do it and see what sticks" method.

Despite all of the vaudevillian stunts, breathtaking visuals and absurd plot, Eternal Sunshine is a love story at heart, sure to appease those in search of the surreal and the touching.

"In no relationship can you live every day like it's the first time you've met, and that's what I absolutely love about this film," Winslet said. "It's actually a very simple love story about two people who are meant to be together."

Carrey and Winslet's on-screen chemistry shows that their characters, no matter how bizarre or imperfect, share a love that can withstand even the most ridiculous of situations.

"It's romantic - and yet it's not romanticized," Carrey said. "It's a real love."

Related Links:
Lacuna, Inc. - forget that painful memory
Eternal Sunshine - Yahoo! Movies

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