"It's tricky to call an actor mesmerizing, for fear of making her power seem magical rather than the result of craft. But Coel here is magnetic."
- NPR

Not bad, but the alleged stand up comedian's stand up 'comedy' was atrocious. Its hard to come back from that. Better to have his occupation as a gardener or something.

(...He's a stand up comedian in real life. Really??)

Is it normal to feel nostalgic about a time & place I didn't even exist in?

It takes about 30 seconds into any rewatch of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind to be reminded of its genius.