Well, I wish that I could say that I enjoyed ESoTSM as much as most folks around here apparently have, but...

Posted by Audiophilander (A) on March 20, 2004 at 22:28:58

In Reply to: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind posted by rico on March 20, 2004 at 12:53:29:

... my wife and I and one of our friends caught this movie earlier today and none of us thought it was worthwhile. I liked it best, but in spite of my efforts to appreciate it I found the story pretentious in the extreme, mostly due to Charlie Kaufman's script. The concept and backwards filming technique was okay, it's been done before very effectively in films like Memento, but overall I felt that CK's story was uninvolving and at the same time grossly manipulative. The performances were generally fine, with Jim Carry pulling off some of his finest dramatic acting yet, and Kirsten Dunst and Kate Winslet were well cast, but between Kaufman's twisted self-indulgent screenplay and Gondry's jerky hand-held camera direction I couldn't personally recommend ESoTSM without having a dose of Dramamine handy.

Try to keep in mind that my opinion was the most favorable one in this small band of weary filmgoers! My wife absolutely loathed this movie and considers it time wasted that she'll never get back! Also, she vowed NEVER to watch another film Charlie Kaufman has scripted, bearing in mind that she hasn't liked any of the films to which he has been attributed screenwriting credit to date, so this is not all that unexpected. BTW, our friend was even more adamant in his distaste for this movie; he actually left the cinema half-way through the showing, which is something he rarely does unless folks in the audience become too distracting for him to enjoy the film (i.e., babies crying without intervention, loud obnoxious viewers, etc.).

FTR, I'm sure that those who appreciate ESoTSM have extremely refined tastes, and the reviews have been overwhelmingly good, but obviously this isn't everybody's cup'a tea.

AuPh

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - rico 12:53:29 03/20/04 (17)

I loved it - Corndog71 08:33:05 03/21/04 (0)

Well, I wish that I could say that I enjoyed ESoTSM as much as most folks around here apparently have, but... - Audiophilander 22:28:58 03/20/04 (0)

very good - tunenut 21:37:23 03/20/04 (1)

Re: "laugh out loud funny" - rico 03:49:20 03/21/04 (0)

If you liked director Michel Gondry's work... - TAFKA Steve 17:58:22 03/20/04 (3)

Re: If you liked director Michel Gondry's work... - sjb 18:06:59 03/20/04 (2)

Excellent! - TAFKA Steve 04:52:13 03/21/04 (1)

No nude girlfriends. - sjb 17:02:22 03/21/04 (0)

I really enjoyed it. - sjb 17:48:40 03/20/04 (5)

P.S. I don't agree about KD doing the best stoned scene. - sjb 18:03:58 03/20/04 (4)

Speaking of true achievements... I think Jeff Daniels did the best diarrhea in movie history - Victor Khomenko 18:07:14 03/20/04 (3)

Whoa, you saw that, Mr. Monocle/Dom? Got something you need to confess? ..n - albee33 18:24:28 03/20/04 (1)

I laughed so hard my wife threatened to divorce me (nt) - Victor Khomenko 18:42:42 03/20/04 (0)

Why oh why - sjb 18:14:17 03/20/04 (0)

Sorry, ain't seen it yet but Durnst couldn't top "Fast Times.."'s Jeff Spicoli. nt - tinear 14:59:44 03/20/04 (1)

That was no acting, Mr. Tin. .....n - albee33 19:02:12 03/20/04 (0)

Re: Typo: I meant "restraint" (nt) - rico 12:55:05 03/20/04 (0)

Follow Ups

Well, I wish that I could say that I enjoyed ESoTSM as much as most folks around here apparently have, but... - Audiophilander 22:28:58 03/20/04 (0)

You can not post to an archived thread.