back to work tomorrow; transient sunshine

[fflo]

3-day weekends make it especially hard for me to go to bed on time & get up for work.

With all the praises sung of it by my fellow workers and others, it's perhaps not surprising that my viewing of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind tonight was a let-down. I'm especially disappointed to have to report my disappointment to folks who enjoyed it so much, you know? Maybe my mood isn't right for it, but I kinda don't think I'da been bowled over in any mood.

I mean, it's ambitious and all, structurally, but I knew that going in. I do follow the shenanigans, but, well, for one thing, I never really feel that those two characters are in love. Or not in any kind of love I'd want to fight for (and I fight for love, believe you me). That's vague and subjective, I know, but there it is. (Of course everything's subjective, I feel compelled to add.) And no, my problem with their "great" love is not cuz it starts out with the sour end of things. I didn't buy the beautiful beginnings, and for that matter I didn't like either of the two characters. Then there's the gimmicky factor. The movie seems enamored of itself---there's THAT love.... Surprisingly I wasn't annoyed by Jim Carrey's presence(/face), and I did find a few bits engaging, and I like Mark Ruffalo, but in the end I'm gonna have to give it a pass.

Maybe part of my problem is that, well... Well, you know what? If somebody wants to erase a relationship, she can. All by her lonesome. Don't need no Lacuna. People do it all the time.

And there's the disconnect about how the process is supposedly unknown to our protagonist, but then he---half-heartedly set up as a cautious character, I gather to make his attraction to her be about her free-spiritedness---this guy needs only to be told "trust me" and "it's no more brain damage than a night of hard-drinking," and that's it. Yeah, I'm quibbling. It's late & I'm burnt & in no shape to get at my problems with the movie, let alone articulate them well (and thus get at them for real). But if it'd worked for me I wouldn't be quibbling. I'm sparing you a lot of it, honest. I fear I'll spark cries of outrage if I suggest that the movie doesn't seem to me, ultimately, to have a heart. Not that all movies need one, but one on this theme certainly does.

disclaimerwill, if you see this before I get in, will you break it to RLZ? I feel as if I'll have let you two down.

Comments

[fflo.livejournal.com]

I took in Matchstick Men, despite Cage, and didn't regret it. But heist movies & con games in film are a guilty pleasure of mine. Plus that one promised some character interest, and had Sam Rockwell.

But I was telling somebody the other day how Nicolas Cage is doing a lot to ruin Moonstruck for me, retroactively. Retroactive ruin is what happens when, say, Kevin Costner goes on to be such a schmuck and ruin Bull Durham, in which he was the weak link to begin with.

[groovesinorbit]

It's called "jumping the shark," isn't it? I really liked Cage when he was doing the romantic comedy schtick. Moonstruck for one. Raising Arizona for another. He seems to have gone the Bruce Willis/action route, though, that I'm not particularly fond of.

Haven't seen Matchstick Men, although I like heist and con game movies, too. Did you see Catch Me If You Can? I remember liking that one, even with Tom Hanks (who I don't dislike really, but am just horrendously sick of).

I can still watch Bull Durham without Costner ruining it, although I really don't like him any more. Field of Dreams stands up for me, too.