Amazon.com: Screenwriters rarely develop a distinctive voice that can be recognized from movie to movie, but the ornate imagination of Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) has made him a unique and much-needed cinematic presence. In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a guy decides to have the memories of his ex-girlfriend erased after she's had him erased from her own memory--but midway through the procedure, he changes his mind and struggles to hang on to their experiences together. In other hands, the premise of memory-erasing would become a trashy science-fiction thriller; Kaufman, along with director Michel Gondry, spins this idea into a funny, sad, structurally complex, and simply enthralling love story that juggles morality, identity, and heartbreak with confident skill. The entire cast--Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Wilkinson, and more--give superb performances, carefully pitched so that cleverness never trumps feeling. A great movie. --Bret Fetzer
What's the big deal? Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a critics darling and hit movie on DVD but I couldn't stand this film and I really tried to understand why this film is so special. Kate Winslet's Oscar nominated performance is reason alone to watch this over-analytical comedy. Winslet is a fearless and unique actress, Jim Carrey and Mark Ruffalo are also good, I just wish Kristen Dunst wasn't in this, she's a one-trick pony! Eternal Sunshine... left me clouded and confused, pass this one up!
A remarkable piece of cinema I truly enjoyed this movie. Although I will warn you that if you want traditional romance, comedy, and drama, then this film is not for you. After all it is made by Focus Features, and was written by Charlie Kauffman.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a quirky comedy/drama. Jim Carrey is amazing as the understated, and at times, dull Joel. Kate Winslet is perfection as the outspoken, trying-so-hard-to-impress-you freak girl Clementine. They meet and have a wonderful relationship, but like so many others, they fall apart.
In the quirkiest of turns, Joel finds out Clementine has had him erased from her memory, so Joel decides to do the same. And this is where the action and emotion begin. While remembering all the pain and anguish this love affair caused him, he also realizes that those emotions pale in comparison to the love and affection they also shared (but have apparently forgotten about).
This movie has a truly stunning ending that makes me cry with happiness. The story is so brutally honest that anyone who has ever loved and lost should feel some sort of connection to these characters and their plight.
I love this movie, and it will continue to be one of my favorites for all time. Highly recommended!!
Do not read this review if you haven't seen the movie (Spoiler Alert) Consider yourself warned...
I saw this movie based on a recommendation from a friend that it was really good. "Really good" does not do this movie justice. This movie blew me away. I think it's the greatest love story I have ever experienced on film, which I know is a bold claim. The reason I say that is because this movie is a celebration of love itself, and not the person whom those feelings are attached to. Joel does not want to give up the memories and feelings associated with love because even though he does not feel the same way about Clementine that he used to, the memories and feelings are what sustain him and keep him going, despite the darkness and sadness associated with the deterioration of that relationship. Love is what makes us human, not mere companionship. Different people I have discussed this movie with interpret the end differently than I do. Others have interpreted the movie to mean that they will end up together forever. I think that misses the point of the movie. I interpret the end to mean that they will break up again but the journey in search of love and happiness, however brief, is worth all the pain associated with its unhappy conclusion. Life is not a fairy tale but that does not mean it is not worth living. Clementine is not your typical glamorous female lead for a reason. She is supposed to be real and attainable, the kind of woman that any of us could meet and date in real life, and many of us have. We are supposed to understand why Joel fell in love with her and why he fell out of love with her, all the time understanding that people moving in and our of our lives is a major part of life itself. Attempting to erase the memories of these people only does us harm because we never stop loving the memories. A beautiful exploration of what it means to be human.
Ahh how many chats this movie has inspired I'm a huge James Dean fan, so for about 16 years when people asked my favorite movie, I'd answer with one of his (which depended on my mood at the time). Until I saw Eternal Sunshine.
I love movies that get into the human mind. Movies that ask the questions that we all ask and then take them a step further. And this movie did it brilliantly. With so many movies that I would call "typical", it's hard for me to find movies like this one -- ones that are just about people and yet actually interesting and different.
I remember a good 6 months to a year after seeing it, someone brought it up and once again I was in a long chat with someone asking the question -- would you do it? What memories would you want to erase if you could? Would you really still be you? Don't those memories all make you part of who you are? Etc. Granted in the length of a movie they can't possibly go into it quite as in depth as we'd like, and at it's core this was really just a love story. It wasn't a typical love story, yet it was one we could all relate to -- assuming we've all been hurt, questioned our relationships, etc.
And hopefully if you were paying attention to the bigger picture it made you question a lot more that just romantic issues.
And and let's not forget stunning visuals and actors who were perfectly cast.
Worthy of Multiple Viewing For English Lit majors and/or trivia wonks, the title of this film is taken from a line in Alexander Pope's "Eloisa to Abelard." Just as Eloisa prays to forget her tragic lover in Pope's poem, Clementine (Kate Winslet) and Joel (Jim Carrey) ask to have their memories of each other surgically removed from their minds in Mike Gondry's film. However, during the neurological procedure to rid Joel of memories of his failed love, Joel begins to have second thoughts about letting go. He begins to fight, albeit unsuccesfully, to hold onto his recollections of Clementine as the doctor systematically zaps away synaptic reminants of his girlfriend in Joel's brain.
Joel's struggle to hold onto these memories, which takes up a significant portion of the movie, further illuminates for the viewer a condition of human existence -- one that is often tethered not just to past experiences but our consciousness (i.e. memory) of that experience. Despite an idea that could have easily slid into pedantic philosophical abstraction, the story ultimately works, because Gondry pulls the characters back into the real world. Clementine and Joel, despite their post surgical condition, are faced with a question that we must all face in life: whom do we fall for, regardless of what fate may have in store?
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