Insanely Awe-dical

I finally watched this movie after it being recommended to me for years. I enjoyed it the way I enjoyed Lost in Translation - where it had its beauty, but I'm sure watching it a second time may diminish it's flavor. It took me 3-4 years to watch it once, so it may be a while before I feel pulled to watch it again.

-- Spoiler Alert--

I think I like long cold openings. Lost used this concept in their opening episode and I enjoyed being hurled into the chaos of the concept before even being introduced with the blurry "Lost" title. Eternal does a similar concept with Jim Carrey's character Joel waiting for the train for work, then impulsively (and without reason; he realizes this himself) takes a different train to the beach and skips work and starts his journey. He begins an awkward romance with train-mate Kate Winslet's Clementine .

I also like certain scenes, despite their actual value or meaning, due to their great use of camera angles and lighting. In Garden State, my two favorite scenes were two of their most promoted clips, where Natalie Portman briefly dances feverishly in the shadow of a fire and when Zach Braff and his two friends scream to hear their echos in the chasm. In this movie, I felt a similar tingle when watching the couple lying on the frozen lake. I imagine their senses at their moment to be in full fluctuation, with the frozen icy lake on their back, the budding relationship in full swing, the night air and their philosophical conversation. Great scene. The music in this movie also provides a wonderfully somber mood that complements the majority of the scenes.

The core concept of the movie is Clementine has Joel erased from her memory after their breakup, and in grief/response Joel goes to have the same procedure done. While in the midst of it, Jim Carrey relives each memory as they are being erased, and decides he wants to fight it. I believe Jim Carrey's dramatic roles (in my head, I'm only counting this and The Truman Show), it seems he is good at playing the trapped and helpless character struggling against greater powers. His dramatic appeal really does shine when he realizes he can fight. Perhaps it is just the way I enjoy his reactions when he realizes - perhaps it isn't *great* acting or anything; I do enjoy the concept of fighting control, and he does it well.

Kirsten Dunst is a welcome surprise in the movie as well; she plays part of the staff of the company that erases memory. The interactions between the staff play an integral part of the story and she comes off aloof and charming, in stark contrast to an over-reaching Mary Jane in the Spider-man series - this movie should be her portfolio headliner IMO.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie's use of insanity in Joel's head, and it makes me want to watch psychedelic movies like The Science of Sleep. The character interactions are great, and the movie had great pacing. About 10 minutes from the end, I wish it had ended. Then I hated that they kept it going. Then I was happy they finished it the way it ended. It's feelings like that that make me feel like the movie paced itself well (with some weird time-confusions; check Wikipedia for a complete chronological order of events) and I would definitely recommend it if you liked Lost in Translation.

Labels: movies