You can erase someone from your mind. Getting them out of your heart is a different story.
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND is a 2004 film starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, directed by Michel Gondry and written by Charlie Kaufman. The film follows Jim Carrey as Joel Barish, an emotionally withdrawn and exceptionally shy person who stumbles upon Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet), who is a total opposite in terms of personality, yet they somehow connect. After their relationship eventually goes sour, Clementine decides to have Joel erased from her memory to end the suffering of their relationship and Joel follows suit. At the last minute, Joel realises that he cannot deal with the consequences losing Clementine from his memory and attempts to fight back.
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of my favourite films of all time, with its non-linear narrative constructing an infinite love loop that is destined to repeat for eternity.
Jim Carrey as aforementioned, stars as Joel Barish and is simply fantastic. This performance easily being one of the best of his career, if not the best. Some find Carrey insufferable because of his repetitive patterns of comedy and often his other performances being overshadowed by his own personality. You feel as if his character is himself in other films such as Yes Man or Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. This is not one of those cases however, his performance not overshadowing his character, but blending perfectly into the tortured soul that is Joel Barish. You really do feel as emotionally withdrawn as he does and you connect with him as a result, as bizarre as that may seem initially. It is a performance that I thought I would never see from Carrey, not since The Truman Show, which has yet to be replicated again in any of his appearances to this day. If only he would gravitate towards more dramatic work rather than comedy, as it is an untapped goldmine that needs to be seen more of. Carrey shows some incredible potential as a dramatic actor and it really needs to be realised in some of his later films, but has not been seen since, sadly.
Kate Winslet takes second billing and is the other emotional half to Joel, Clementine. Winslet is equally as breathtaking in terms of a performance as Carrey, the ultimate counter to the subdued and quiet Joel is the energetic and emotionally unstable Clementine. Winslet once cited this as her favourite performance in any of her films, and its with good reason. Clementine is Joel's emotional core, that she destroys when she impulsively erases Joel from her mind. Winslet plays the impulsive, high-maintenance girl with a tender side that you have to tap into. It is because of this that their relationship initially works, even with their radical personality differences, but with those differences inevitably come problems which causes it to fall apart. Your reaction to Clementine is negative to start with, but you uncover her flawed personality as you progress through the film and unravel the couple's history which makes you gradually like her more and more. That's the beauty of her performance, it grows on you and eventually wins you over. You feel protective of her whilst she is being manipulated by characters later on in the film, using her lost emotions and past relationship and spinning it into their own relationship, plagiarising someone that no longer exists.
The rest of the cast is similarly stuffed full of great performances and now big names, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Tom Wilkinson. Respectively most known for Spider-Man, The Avengers, The Lord of the Rings and In the Bedroom. With Mark Ruffalo being the only actor whose most known film was after this films release. The entire cast is stellar, with Elijah Wood as the exceptionally slimy and manipulative Patrick, using Joel and Clementine's relationship to fuel his own relationship with Clementine, which inevitably backfires. There is also notably Kirsten Dunst's titular speech recites a poem by Alexander Pope, or "Pope Alexander" as she puts it in a daze. It stands as one of the emotional high points of the film that doesn't involve Joel and Clementine, a stand-out scene in a film already full of them.
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| "Meet me in Montauk." |
The cinematography in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is quite beautiful in an oddly dystopian way, everything looks washed out almost to the point that it is intentional. Once the more vibrant sequences towards the end of the film kick in whilst Joel's memory is being erased and his once hopeful life is seen it creates an effect of urgency, these colours scream to you that Joel has to hold on to what was once better and that it is not better to forget the past, but to look forward and learn from your mistakes. The colour of Clementine's hair and clothing also represent this, that it is the last vibrant shard of his life, and also reflect Clementine's attention seeking nature, the bright colours draw the attention of those passing by. Overall, a good job from the relatively unknown Ellen Kuras also working with Michel Gondry on Be Kind Rewind.
The screenplay by Charlie Kaufman reinforces him as being my favourite writer of all time, writing these deeply personal tales and adapting them to the screen, in other great films such as Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and of course, Synecdoche, New York. Kaufman has crafted an intricate world with his characters and non-linear narrative, with Joel's memory and disconnected subconscious serving as the majority of the film's plot, navigating his maze-like mind and making you feel hopelessly lost, as he is. The overall arc of Clementine and Joel ties into the theme of Caden Cotard in Synecdoche, New York. That to every end is a beginning, the end is never truly the end. Joel and Clementine's relationship is doomed to fail every time it begins and with each erase comes a new start for their relationship. The screenplay is masterful, opting to use the characters as the focus of the plot, and in doing so, creating two truly flawed characters whose weaknesses forward the plot and urge them to forget what they should attempt to fix, the Lacuna clinic serving as Clementine's impulsive way out, linking to Joel's reluctant outing of his suffering. You can feel Kaufman's imagination oozing from the script and onto the screen, if this subject matter were to have been tackled by another writer it most likely will not have ended up being as smart and as exceptional as Kaufman's personal touch.
The directing is similarly daring, with Michel Gondry creating these very intricate looking scenes, especially with the dream sequences, imagery that definitely sticks with you long after viewing, such as the childhood dream sequences where Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are surrounded by younger children, whilst they themselves play as their younger counterparts, but as themselves and also the faceless people who are left to sulk around whilst Joel's memories are in the process of being destroyed. It has some genuinely psychological moments that strike close to home, Gondry emulates the dream-like essence of the whole film to a tee and I can't imagine this film benefiting from another director, only being worse in the hands of another. Gondry really did draw a fantastic performance form both Winslet and especially Carrey.
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| "Remember me. Try your best. Maybe we can." |
The score by Jon Brion adds onto the list of things great about this film, crafting a quirky yet oddly touching score and soundtrack that overall compiles into the emotional struggle that is Joel and Clementine, it fits the film almost too perfectly, it is as beautiful as is the tale of the two main protagonists, with the end of the soundtrack comes the beginning.
Overall, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of those films where if you had to give an arbitrary numbered rating which I don't generally like doing, it would be a perfect 10. This film is highly subjective to me however, what may seem to me as the perfect film could be complete nonsense to another, as this film is definitely not for everyone, however I believe that it is much more accessible compared to some of Michel Gondrys' or Charlie Kaufmans' other works, that those who are looking for a face value experience are sure to enjoy, but is open for interpretation on several different levels for those who are willing to dig deeper and watch the film multiple times to fully understand the aforementioned non-linear narrative. No matter what you deride from it, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an immaculate film in my opinion and stands as one of my few favourite films of all time. I would highly recommend it to those who are looking for a drama with a slight sci-fi twist or for those who are looking for something that is different from the typical going-through-the-motions picture.
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| "Mierzwiak! Please let me keep this memory... just this one." |
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