2004, R, 108 minutes

Don't let the zany ads for the new Jim Carrey movie fool you. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind isn't just a comedy; it's a thoughtful, touching, and wildly imaginative film about loss. Carrey and Kate Winslet give career-highlight performances thanks to writer Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) and director Michel Gondry.

Joel (Carrey) and Clementine (Winslet) had a messy breakup that gets even messier when Clementine has Joel erased from her memory. Lacuna, Inc. is the brainchild of Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), who provides a procedure in which an entire relationship can be removed from one's memory forever. When Joel learns of this, he opts to have the same procedure. With the help of Dr. Mierzwiak's quirky assistants Stan (Mark Ruffalo), Patrick (Elijah Wood), and Mary (Kirsten Dunst), Joel begins the erasure in his apartment while he sleeps.

What Joel didn't consider, however, is that he still loves Clementine and isn't ready to let her go. Unfortunately, he realizes this when the procedure is already underway, as the memories of his life (all of which now include Clementine) come flooding back to him in a dreamlike way. He recalls the first time he met her, on a cold Long Island afternoon. He remembers embarrassing incidents from his childhood, with Clementine by his side all the way, struggling to stay in his memory.

In the meantime, Patrick is in the real world using Joel's personal information to woo the unsuspecting Clementine. Stan and Mary are busy getting stoned on pot, so they don't immediately realize that Joel is actually fighting the procedure. Dr. Mierzwiak is later called in, who has some secrets of his own.

Eternal Sunshine is a film that works on many different levels. In the story of Joel and Clementine's relationship and breakup, Carrey and Winslet create characters whose emotions run very deep. Carrey again explores the more serious side of his talents to great success, playing a reserved guy who isn't the life of the party. Winslet also has a great role as Clementine, a complicated woman whose hair color changes along with her many shifts in mood. Together, Carrey and Winslet make perfect sense together on screen, capturing the ups and downs of this relationship in a touchingly real way.

Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman is a genius of some sort. He comes up with these stories that on the surface have no basis in reality, and yet he keeps the underlying emotions of his characters completely real. The fantastical mind-erasing premise of the movie is an excuse to get Joel to do some serious self-examination and get in touch with his true feelings. Not that the movie isn't funny, as well. Dr. Mierzwiak's goofball assistants provide plenty of light moments, and Joel's increasingly outlandish memories, especially those involving his childhood, are hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time.

Director Michel Gondry has an amazing eye. One "memory" shows Joel and Clementine as babies (played by Carrey and Winset) taking a bath in the kitchen sink. In another, Joel goes to the bookstore where Clementine works. As he pleads with her to come back to him, the books in the background slowly become blank. This visual gimmick underscores the fact that Joel's procedure is almost complete, and Clementine is nearly "lost and gone forever," as in the namesake song that she hates.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind isn't mass-produced for Carrey fans like, say, Bruce Almighty, but there is much for anyone to enjoy here. It's a funny, touching, and visually-stunning mind trip that leaves the viewer with much to think about afterwards. Winslet has already been acknowledged as a great actress with three Oscar nominations, but such acclaim has eluded the talented Mr. Carrey. Hopefully, this will be his Lost in Translation. Regardless, Eternal Sunshine is a great film.