We live our lives meeting so many different people and keeping the memory of them inside of us forever. But what if we had the memory of just one person erased from our minds forever? Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind answers that question perfectly and beautifully in this science fiction comedy mixed with romantic drama.
This movie is directed by Michael Gondry, and written by Charlie Kaufman. Being the genius by behind the film, Kaufman is also recognized for his work with the 1999 film Being John Malcovich, and the 2002 film Adaptation.
The story revolves around Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) and Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) as they begin a relationship that eventually turns sour after two years together. A frustrated Clementine then has all memories of her and Joel erased at Lacuna Inc. After finding this out from his friends Rob and Carrie (David Cross and Jane Adams), Joel goes to Lacuna Inc to have all memories of Clementine erased from his memory.
Most of the film takes place inside of Joel's mind with the story in reverse. We see flashbacks of Joel's relationship with Clementine and seeing how happy they are together. Upon realizing that e is truly happy with Clementine, Joel hides her in remote places in his memory to avoid her being erased. When it all comes down to his final memory of when they first met, Clementine tells Joel "Meet me in Montauk" before everything is erased.
We also see a sub-plot storyline between members of Lacuna Inc with Patrick (Elijah Wood) using Joel's memory to get with Clementine, Mary (Kirsten Dunst) battling feelings for her boss Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) while still in a relationship with Stan Fink (Mark Ruffalo). Patrick's relationship with Clementine fails and Mary eventually quits Lacuna Inc and stealing the company records.
We are brought back to the beginning of the film with Joel and Clementine meeting once again, but having their meeting strained by their records of having each other erased from their memories. Not wanting to lose her again, Joel suggest starting over with Clementine even if the story goes the same way.
The story is what tears at your heart strings. You long to see Joel and Clementine just make up with each other as every memory is erased. You know that love can power through the darkest of times, so why can't Joel and Clementine see that? Maybe it is because of the two different personalities that they both posses that tear them apart with Joel being introverted up against Clementine's extroverted nature.
And the portrayals of each character is what captivates me the most. Shying away from his usual comedic acts, Jim Carrey puts on a great performance of Joel, a man who is trying to find what is right in his life and what has caused him to be in the position that he is in. It goes up with his performance in the 1998 film The Truman Show that shows that Carrey can be funny but also serious in his roles.
Kate Winslet does a phenomenal job as Clementine. It’s a performance that we don't usually see from Winslet, who usually sticks to serious roles. You can compare this performance of hers to the likes of the 1994 sci-fi film Heavenly Creatures and the 1998 independent film
Hideous Kinky that show the wild side of Winslet. And I don't know if this is just me, but I feel that there are different personalities to Clementine when her hair color is different. When the hair has bright colors, she is warm and loving. When her hair is dark, she has a cold demeanor to her. If that is the case, Winslet deserves all the recognition for this great performance.
Cinematography plays a huge role in this film. The lighting tends to be a bit dark to describe the mood that Joel is in, especially with everything being erased around him. However, when a memory is actually good the lighting is bright and cheery. The lighting is what helps portray the memory that Joel is experiencing and sets the tone and mood for what we are seeing.
You can also add visual effects to this list as the effects also play a role in Joel's memory. For example, when Joel is chasing after Clementine in his car and everything is falling apart with a car falling from the sky and the neighborhood being switched around as Clementine is walking away. The effects portray every memory being erased, you can say that they are the antagonist of the film.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is the perfect film to show that the only thing we have left in us is our memories. Kaufman takes the direction of this film in a different way than from his previous films, but ties in Carrey's character like the one he portrayed in The Truman Show with the character trying to find what is right in his life. It is a beautiful story of two different people falling out of love and what life was like when they were in love. It goes to show that we don't know what we have until its gone. Luckily, Joel was able to experience happiness one more time.
