Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I think I need to learn to stop friends from gushing their approval over movies I haven't watched. It sets up such unrealistic expectations in my mind, which then makes a way for crashing disappointment when I finally get around to watching the movie.

Spoilers and this writer's honest opinion ahead.

This one goes like this: boy meets girl; boy and girl enjoy prolonged relationship that is, from where I'm standing (or lolling in blue bean bag lounge, as the case may be) mostly dull, verbally abusive and sexually promiscuous; boy and girl split up and separately undergo procedure to have all memory of each other erased from their minds; boy and girl meet again, with no clue that they've ever met before, much less yelled profanities at each other in a crowded market. And other endearing little "couple things"; boy and girl fall for each other all over again; and so, pretty much, ends the show.

As you may have guessed, I really hate to hear people swearing, especially when it's people who are supposed to love each other. By the end of the movie, I could not understand why they'd even been sorry to see the relationship end.

On the plus side, it is a very artistic movie with some interesting shots (including some very repugnant ones), and it does make one think: about the gifts that memory offers us and the painful cost often attached to enjoying those gifts; about the subjectiveness of remembering; about how very strange it is to hear Kate Winslet with an American accent and totally buy it.

Would I recommend watching it? Well. All things considered, no, unless you're one of Michelle's film production students, in which case she'll probably have all manner of interesting technical things to point out that will help you make a million as a big deal director before your 30th birthday. Otherwise, go watch Titanic for the umpteenth time instead; it's predictable and you can get sick of Rose "flying, Jack, I'm flyyyiiiiing", but at least it doesn't try so painfully hard to be profound.