Rating: *****
From the mind of Charlie Kaufman, whom has given us such eccentric masterpieces as "Adaptation" and "Being John Malkovich" comes the torture hearted love story of Joel Barish and Clementine Kruczynski in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".
When Joel Barish is informed that his spontaneous love, Clementine, has decided to erase him from her memory, quite literally, he retaliates in doing the same. Only to find, midway through that he cherishes the memories and the love he has for her, and tries to conserve her memory by inserting her into memories from his childhood. Our Elijah Wood plays the technician, Patrick, in this mind erasing process who in turn falls in love with Clementine and tries to win her heart by using deceitful tactics. Patrick is a very sad, pathetic, slightly creepy, yet endearing character. Though it is a small role it is very poignant to the story, and allows the audience to view the actor in a different light. The film is a smart, mind altering comedic story, that at times makes you stand back and admire the sheer genius of the script and direction. It is guaranteed to be thought-provoking, and curl a smile on your lips.