Spot-on
M. and I attended a screening of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the latest Charlie Kaufman screenplay project, in advance of the general release, and recommend it highly, as we do all the Kaufman movies. How telling is it that Kaufman's screenplay makes it his project regardless of the actors, the director, or the producers? Nothing is wasted here, including the use of Lacuna Inc. as the name of the company delivering the technology that makes the story possible; a nice touch, and almost thrown away, like a notice board in the Simpsons. The plot drives towards deeply layered understanding of human relationships. M. put it that we saw played out the fundamental truth that often what we like best about another person is precisely what drives us mad, too. As for Jim Carrey, I was surprised at how good he was as a serious actor in The Truman Show, mostly because I've never liked his comedy, but if that film had been written by Kaufman, it would have been a stroke-inducing revelation. Carrey delivers a heart-felt and nuanced performance that stands right up there with the best performances we've seen, including Bill Murray in Lost in Translation. Someday Kaufman will slip up and a mediocre piece will result, but it's going to be a long time before that happens.

Addendum: we also saw a preview for the Coen brother's upcoming remake of The Lady Killers, the old Alec Guiness movie, and even with Tom Hanks and a deep South setting, it looks like it ought to be a lot of fun. A Coen Bros. remake? A big step for them, and one I'll make a point of attending.