The inspiration for Sunshine, seems to be Harold Ramis's Groundhog Day, which -- like any great movie -- gains in stature as time passes. Where Bill Murray dominated that film -- and its accomplishment seemed overshadowed because he bestrode the picture like a giant -- Sunshine is filled with a group of outsize selfish folks whose minor-league brattiness makes the second half of the film funny and ugly.
Stan obviously doesn't have respect for professionalism; he trashes Joel's apartment when his co-worker, Mary (Kirsten Dunst), joins him. Patrick falls for Clem while dry-cleaning Joel's memories, and takes advantage of his position.
Joel, slightly cognizant of the intruders in his home while he's under, experiences the waking nightmare we've all had, dreaming of the room we've dozed off in and trying to rouse ourselves from sleep. In the meantime, the heartache-cleansing process is stealing away all of his beloved -- and painful -- times with Clem.
This entire section is breathtakingly realized, melting several bad dreams into one and Gondry's swift, improvised direction bleaches the portentousness from the conception.
It succeeds so completely that we understand why the director's music videos -- especially his work with Bjork and the White Stripes -- work so well. He can define contradictory emotions with extraordinary clarity and alacrity. It's why he's so suited to handling much of this particular Kaufman script.
RSS