The Film:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a simple love story blended with Charlie Kaufman’s quirky creativity. Joel (Jim Carrey) meets Clementine (Kate Winslet) and the two are immediately drawn to one another. The relationship hits the rocks and the two opt for a radical mind-erasing procedure. Lacuna, Inc. has perfected a new technique that allows them to erase memories. The trouble occurs when Joel refuses to let go of those memories.

What we said then:

Jim Carrey ditches physical comedy (and his uncanny ability to overact every scene) to embrace a role that is intriguing due to the awkwardly attractive charisma he gives to his character, Joel. Thanks to Kaufman, Carrey gives a dazzling performance that very few actors could nail.

Kate Winslet is vibrant as Clementine, a rebellious bookstore employee whose mood changes as frequently as her hair color. She and Carrey have an undeniable chemistry that makes Kaufman’s somewhat ridiculous premise of memory-erasing work.

Eternal Sunshine is nothing short of a brilliant film, packed with stunning visuals. It’s smart, has a meaningful script and a cast of Hollywood’s elite. Career-best performances only add to it.

Eternal Sunshine is a film that stays with you weeks after seeing it and provokes you to look past the surface (March 18).

The DVD:

The disc for Eternal Sunshine includes four deleted scenes, a commentary track and a few other featurettes. The deleted scenes are amusing to watch but don’t offer any new insights into any of the characters. “A Conversation with Michel Gondry and Jim Carrey” shows the two sitting in what seems to be a high school auditorium to discuss certain aspects of the film. The DVD also contains a brief “making of” feature that comes off as an extended trailer for the film rather than a detailed behind-the-scenes account. Rounding out the DVD is the Polyphonics Spree’s video “Light & Day,” a Lacuna infomercial and the commentary with Gondry and Kaufman.

Eternal Sunshine doesn’t have the best package, but the film alone is reason enough to check this disc out.