The word “classic” is not a word to be used lightly when describing a film, but every once in a while a film leaves so potent an impression, that you immediately know in your heart it is something special. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, directed by Michel Gondry, and written by Charlie Kaufman, is a 2004 Sci-Fi/romance film that is unique as it is deeply touching. The shine of its brilliance is recognized by all, which is the reason why Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of the leading films in every relevant “Best of” ranking for 15 straight years.
Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) are an unlikely couple. After one particularly nasty fight, Clementine sought out Lacuna, a clinic that specializes in removing memories, and erased Joel from her mind. Our very beings are the summation of our memories. Joel, grief-stricken, decides to die a little. He hunts down the clinic with the help of his friend and asks the doctor (Tom Wilkinson) for the same procedure. As memories of Clementine disappear before Joel’s eyes one piece at a time, he slowly realizes he still has feelings for Clementine. Joel regrets his decision, but it was too late.
At first glance, the pairing of Joel’s black-on-grey attire and shy demeanor with Clementine’s ever-changing hair color and her untamable wildness seems like your typical “introverted boyfriend + Manic Pixie Dream Girl™” combo that’s present in so many romcoms that came before and after. The film, however, paints a very unflattering and realistic picture of the couple. What I love about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind the most, is its confidence in delving into the complex and messy side of things — from the characters to the execution of the film’s high concept premise — Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind doesn’t half-ass, and it definitely doesn’t deal in stock characters and pretty solutions.
Joel isn’t a harmless introvert waiting to be drawn out from his awkward shell like the archetypal role we’ve seen so many times. He is insecure, disconnected, and sometimes dull. A far cry from what we usually see from Jim Carrey’s flamboyant comedian to be sure, but Carrey doesn’t appear to be out of his element here; in fact, he is at the top of his game. Carrey delivers a nuanced and heart-wrenching performance in Joel’s desperation to save his memories and relationship with Clementine. Seeing Carrey’s penchant for method acting, one has to wonder if there was a sad story behind this phenomenal performance.
Kate Winslet’s Clementine, on the other hand, is fire to Joel’s still water. She is governed by impulses and mood swings, but Winslet retained a complexity under all that agitation. “Too many guys think I’m a concept, or I complete them, or I’m gonna make them alive. But I’m just a fucked-up girl who’s looking for my own peace of mind.” She exclaimed. A dream girl she is not. Interestingly, the term MPDG wasn’t officially coined until a year later by film critic Nathan Rabin. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is ahead of its time.
While the two leads are not exceptionally likable characters, their flaws and the authenticity of their relationship make them relatable. Clementine and Joel are drawn to each other, despite their polar opposite personalities; frictions were inevitable. The debris of their fights scatter over the tracks, and eventually, the relationship is stalled to a halt. But what really kept and duo — and by extension, us the audience — going is that attraction. There’s something hopelessly romantic about a desire so strong that it feels like gravity, like destiny — there’s no defying it. I can’t help but be charmed, and I can’t help but root for Joel’s struggle.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is endlessly inventive, and Joel’s odyssey through his own mind was a visual delight. When it comes to the idea of tampering with a man’s mind, most people would be more familiar with Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending thriller Inception that took the world by storm in 2010, but Nolan and Gondry/Kaufman have vastly different approaches. The dreamscape of Inception very much reflects Nolan’s austere, mechanical aesthetic; there are accurate observations on the kinks of the human mind, but Nolan uses them as the cogs and pillars of his world and contraptions to propel the plot. Dreams in Inception are virtual reality running inside human brains.
By contrast, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind creates a much more organic and intimate impression of dreams, as the natural eeriness of the dreamscape emphasizes Joel’s pain of loss. Places and events blend together in a way only our subconscious can. The film cuts across time and space in free association while the technicians (played by Kristen Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, and they have stories of their own) process memories slated for erasure. The editing of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind will never receive enough praise; it allows much of the on-screen unreality to happen with minimal post-production. On the macro side, the ever-shifting realities and perspectives on top of interconnected storylines are never confusing or feel out of place. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind moves like visual jazz.
The trek inside Joel’s mind is a masterclass of storytelling. The film dives into the couple’s dynamics and history with grace and ease — as the collage of sweet and sorrowful moments between Joel and Clementine is both effortless and poignant. “Why do I fall in love with every woman I see who shows me the least bit of attention?” Joel mused at the beginning of the film. The expression of love may be hardwired in every one of us, but it takes Joel through a journey into the past to truly see the person on the receiving end.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a movie that never ceases to surprise its audience, and it always has one more trick up its sleeve. I have no doubt in saying this film is a bonafide classic. I only wish I could erase the film from my memory and experience it all over again.
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