Very rarely do I not need time after a film to think about it some more before I can honestly say that it is one of the greatest ever made. It has only been two hours since seeing this film, and I can honestly say, without reservation, that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of the greatest films ever made.

I went in expecting a LOT. Especially since I'm a huge fan of both Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry. Ever since I saw Gondry's work for the very first time, I knew he had something. He just has the gift. The ability to render complex emotions and thoughts in simple abstract forms and rhythms, as would, perhaps, a very talented child. His strengths play very well for this film, and it's difficult to imagine anybody else better suited for the project.

And Charlie Kaufman. Man oh man, if he isn't the most brutally honest, incisive, imaginative, and enduringly romantic screenwriter working today, I don't know who is. His work was already pure genius in my mind, and with this, he takes it up another level. Sheesh.

The acting is superb. They knew how good the script was, you can tell. Everyone on this project must have known from the moment they read it that they were working on something marvelous, because it is. Despite such heavy departures from traditional form and structure, it manages, by holding onto the heart of the story, to make it through such a chaotic torrent of information, and in many ways the film is about that holding onto the soul amidst such chaos. (The chaos is so beautiful in this film, too) The music is great, the effects are put to great use, the dialogue so real, the characters so, so human, it is difficult for me to find any faults...

A great, great film from some of my favorite creators! Man, I LOVE this film!! Can you tell? I could go on for hours, but I gotta get back to work...