Rating: 
Summary: A triumph of imagination!
Review: The basic premise is that Jim Carrey's character, already despondent over losing his great love, Kate Winslet, becomes even more despairing when he learns that she has erased him from her memories using a procedure developed by the Lacuna Corporation. It's a sorta sci-fi premise, true, but the technical trappings of the movie are almost non-existent.In many ways, this is a love story, or at least a story that explores the nature of love. As Carrey submits to the process of erasure, he "experiences" his memories of the relationship in a sort of reverse order, and begins to regret his decision. We see the memories...many of them painful and unlovely, and we experience them on the usual level of watching a romantic comedy. But we also see Carrey experiencing their erasure, and we feel for him and Winslet on a different level. The movie (as you might expect from the writer of BEING JOHN MALKOVICH and ADAPTATION) bounces around in time a bit, but frankly, it doesn't seem that hard to grasp what's going on. His memories are in reverse...that's not hard...and they are a little weird, because memories are a little like dreams...so we accept their oddity. But the memories feel very specific and real too, and that's why we get sucked in by the characters. In a sorta subplot, we meet the four main people who run Lacuna. Tom Wilkinson, a really terrific older actor (IN THE BEDROOM, is the chairman of the company. His office feels like the office of a low-brow bookkeeper or shady dentist, not a scientist on the cutting edge. We get the idea that perhaps this procedure isn't quite as refined as one might like yet. Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood are his "techies," a nerdy bunch with lots of social problems of their own. And Kirsten Dunst is the administrative assistant with a secret. The night that Carrey's memories are being erased takes up most of the time in the movie, and we jump back and forth from his internal experiences and the goings-on of the Lacuna bunch. The movie is terrifically acted. I've read many people say "Jim Carrey has never been better." This is true, in a way. He really disappears into this essentially non-humorous role. At one point, he is playing himself as a young child, but other than that, he plays it "straight" and we mostly forget it's that wild and crazy Ace Ventura guy. It's a real treat to see Winslet, as always. She's such a daring and generous actor, with a spot-on American accent. Her character is quirky and difficult to like, but she infuses is with loads of pathos, humanity and energy. She and Carrey really play off each other...Carrey usually just plows right over his co-stars...this time, Winslet pushes right back, and they are a nice couple. The supporting cast are all fine. I like Mark Ruffalo, particularly. Elijah Wood is supremely unlikable, which is a good stretch for him. Dunst is a tad underwritten, and thus, when her big secret is revealed, one's reaction is to shrug ones shoulders a bit. What she does when her secret is revealed is a bit of a stretch, too. She becomes a bit of a device at the end...I didn't totally buy that she would do what she does with Wilkinson's records. So, for that reason, I dock the movie about a quareter of a star. The other quarter to a half star goes for the Carrey / Winslet relationship. We see how they meet, which is well explored, and feels real and awkward, like a new relationship does. We see how they crumbled, and that feels real and ugly, just like a long-time relationship coming to a bitter end. But somehow, I missed the cozy, comfortable, settled-in portion of their relationship. We can't go from the heat of the first date to the ice of the end without seeing the comfortable middle...yet the movie skimps on those details. So, the film gets 4.25 stars. But it is nonetheless HIGHLY recommended for anyone who has experienced adult, painful romance or for anyone who can appreciate a film that never takes the easy way and seldom gets predictable.
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