Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Fair warning: Lloyd Christmas is about to wreck your week. Jim Carrey plays Joel as a man folded so far into himself he barely moves his face, and it’s the bravest thing he ever did on screen. Kate Winslet’s Clementine crashes in with blue hair and zero filter and makes him look even quieter. Michel Gondry shoots the erasing like a house falling apart room by room: lights going out, faces going blank, a bookstore where every cover fades to nothing. The weak spot is the clinic crew. Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst and Elijah Wood run a side plot that’s half as interesting as the memories, and Patrick’s whole deal with Clementine is creepy. It made only $72.9 million worldwide, small money, but it sits at 8.3 on IMDb with 1.2 million ratings. A 9.1 because it’s the only breakup movie that makes you want to call your ex and also never call your ex. $4,409 says you scroll through old photos tonight and pretend you’re just cleaning up your camera roll.

What works: Jim Carrey’s quietest performance, Kate Winslet at her most alive, and Gondry’s handmade effects that make forgetting look like a building coming down.

What doesn’t: The subplot with the Lacuna staff is much weaker than the love story, and Patrick’s behavior is creepy in a way the movie never really deals with.

Who it’s for: Anyone who has ever had a breakup they wanted to delete, and people who like their romance with a little sci-fi weirdness.