Joel (Jim Carrey) isn't impulsive, but as the film begins, he cuts work and writes in his diary about his sudden urge to visit the beach in winter. It's his first entry in two years and he notices ripped out pages. He doesn't remember ripping them out.
Clementine (Kate Winslet) and Joel start chatting on the train to the beach. They're attracted to each other, and she feels like she's seen him before. She has blue hair and starts talking about her hair color obsessions. She doesn't stay one color for long. Joel listens, but there's some sort of awkward tension between them. Clementine almost gives up chatting with Joel, but then maybe she decides to try again.She comes on as aggressive; Joel is more passive. He wants to meet a woman, he writes in his diary, but he can't talk to women. He's better at sharing his thoughts in his diary. She gives him a punch goodbye, but then Joel decides to give her a ride and a second chance. Just an odd way to start a movie, and we wonder why these two are attracted to each other when they seem to be such opposites.
And that's the first 20 minutes of the movie, and only then do the opening credits finally roll. We see what we assume is the beginning of a relationship. Then, when the opening credits roll, Joel is crying. What happened? Who is Patrick (Elijah Wood), and why did he knock on Joel's car window right before the opening credits? Does he know Clementine? Or, maybe he knows Joel?
It's a weird beginning to a film, especially if you're coming to the film fresh with no knowledge of what this film is about.
This is one of those movies that allows us only to know as much as what Joel knows. We might even have a little more access to information to Joel does, but even so, that information isn't useful. We don't know what it means when we receive it, and it's only later that all the pieces start to make sense.
The way Patrick is shot is very interesting, and I know if I was just watching this new at the theater, I wouldn't even notice him other than the time he knocks on Joel's car window... but we hear his voice in the van as he approaches Joel's apartment, we get a glimpse of him as he kisses Clementine at the Barnes and Noble, and he's there at the doctor's office. There but always just barely visible. Even at Joel's apartment, Stan (Mark Ruffalo) is clearly shown, but Patrick is hidden under the table checking the wires.
Lacuna is the "service" that does the medical procedure. What we think of this "service" is influenced by how we see the way Stan and Patrick -- and later, Mary (Kirsten Dunst) and Dr. Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) -- act. If they act professionally and with ethics, then maybe we perceive the "service" differently. All of the characters, to varying degrees, cross ethical lines. Even when Mary decides to be a sort of "whistleblower," she's still crossing ethical lines, even if we applaud her decision.
But Mary's actions are what gives Joel and Clementine a choice. If you knew what you felt for another person at the beginning of relationship -- a good, strong attraction -- would it be worth it to take a ride on the relationship rollercoaster even if you knew that the relationship has no guarantees of success, even that it would likely fail (or even had already failed)?
I assume most relationships fail, right? But they are (or should be) learning experiences. Endings can be painful, but pain is part of the human experience, and it also might be valuable to the learning experience, so that you don't make the same mistake over and over again. Failure might be nice to forget, but it's one of the building blocks required for success.
Jim Carrey is great in this role, but can I just say the obvious: Kate Winslet is easily one of the best actors of the 21st century. I completely believe her in this character.
I watched this film 22 years ago, completely forgot everything about it, and boy am I glad I had a chance to rewatch and relive this one.
Rating: 5/5 stars
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