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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind



cast :

Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst, Tom Wilkinson

crew :

Directed by: Michel Gondry
Written by: Charlie Kaufman
Produced by: Anthony Bregman
DOP: Ellen Kuras
Editor: Valdis Oskarsdottir
Music Score by: John Brion

release date :

2004

There is never a shortage of romantic love stories about two people where the love can be seen to unfold perfectly (unless with a brief relationship hiccup) in front of you on a large screen. Each classic film, well equipped with its own soon-to-be-cliché quotes that ultimately win him or her over, climax in what we are led to believe is 'happily ever after'. In 1989 we were first introduced to the famous 'I love that you get cold when it is 71 degrees out…' speech from ‘When Harry Met Sally’, in 1993 as the music lifted so did our spirits as Meg Ryan accepts Tom Hanks' hand gesture after saying 'we better go. Shall we?' in ‘Sleepless in Seattle’, and finally (although the list could continue with hundreds more) ‘Titanic’ (1997) gave us a love-conquers-all portrayal, as two young people in love go against the expectations of their society to be together.


With these memorable, feel-good moments in mind, who would have imagined a film with one of the first lines being: 'random thoughts for Valentine's day, 2004. Today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap' could be one of the most heart-warming stories of love you are ever likely to see?


Michel Gondry's ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ (2004) takes the conventional linear love story narrative and flips it around 180 degrees. Written by Charlie Kaufman (‘Being John Malkovich’ (1999), ‘Human Nature’ (2001)) it is not surprising to find another believable alternate reality. Kaufman's creativity mixed with Michel Gondry's artistic style, blended with a love story, would arouse expectations for a visual splendour and an emotional tale, and in this film, the expectations were met perfectly.


Starring what may, at first glance, be an unexpected and unrealistic couple in the shape of Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, the story follows a relationship of two years duration where the couple have now broken up, and then works its way backwards to when they first fell in love. Such a surreal plot is possible due to the technology of the fictional Lucuna Inc., a company that helps people forget things they wish not to remember; including lost pets, lost loved ones and failed relationships.


It is clear from the first five minutes of the film that Carrey has put aside his ‘Ace Ventura’ (1994) persona and has taken off his ‘Mask’ (1994) to reveal again the rarely expressed side of him, reflective of his Truman Burbank character in ‘The Truman Show’ (1998). Carrey plays the quiet, reserved Joel Barish, a single and isolated man who appears trapped in a world of loneliness after parting from his wife. Joel's inner monologue is narrated at the beginning, giving insight into his character, which makes it hard not to connect with him personally right from the start. This stops as soon as he meets Clementine Kruczynski (Winslet) who, like Carrey, is playing a character with a personality unlike those seen in her previous roles. Disguising her strong, British accent with a convincing American one, Winslet plays the loud, impulsive character, Clementine. It does not take long to notice that she is the polar opposite of Joel. Although this 'odd couple', 'opposites attract' approach is nothing new in film, it is interesting to see it combined by two actors playing their typecast opposites at the same time. It could be described that Kate Winslet is playing Jim Carrey and vice versa. She acts as his outward manifestation, as both Jim Carrey and Joel Barish, and he the same for both Kate Winslet and Clementine Kruczynski.


Roughly twenty minutes into the film the title sequence begins to show up on screen, and from here on things begin to get complicated. Upon accidentally finding out that his girlfriend of two years (Clementine) has contacted the Lucuna Inc. Company and had her memory of him erased, a bitter and upset Joel (Carrey) decides to do the same thing with his memory of her. The procedure begins with Joel sitting in what looks like a combination of a dentist chair and a fifties style hair drying chair, where he has placed in front of him any items, he has that reminds him of his girlfriend. From this point he is to return home, take some pills, get into pyjamas, and get in bed to sleep. This is where the two young, clumsy, unprofessional Lucuna Inc. assistants come into his home and take charge. The relationship between Joel and Clementine is shown, but from end to beginning, seeing why and how they broke up, to how they first met. We are seeing this relationship unfold from inside Joel's mind, watching his memories rewind. As this happens, Joel begins to realise what he had was too special to erase, and therefore he attempts to stop the procedure. It is here where the beauty of the film lies, exemplifying the true complexity and heartache that can come with love, as opposed to hiding the possible pain of relationships with a 'happily ever after' motif. After seeing a relationship start with what is sometimes an inevitable and predictable break-up and work its way backwards to that first kiss, there is a wave of nostalgia and happiness upon which the audience can reflect. They may feel the urge to remember and appreciate past and/or present relationships.


Although the surreal and time travelling adventure through Joel's memories is both visually beautiful and captivating, the second story, (life outside of his memories) sometimes may feel a little tacked on. If you allowed yourself to accept the futuristic scenario involving the memory wipe and ignoring for a moment how unlikely it would be for childish, slacker Patrick (Elijah Wood) to get a job with Lucuna Inc., you may begin to focus on the other array of side characters. There is Stan (Mark Ruffalo), the other slacker, not-taking-the-importance-of-his-job-seriously comedic half of Patrick, Mary (Kirsten Dunst), the young, attractive secretary of Lucuna Inc., making sure there is enough eye candy in and outside of the real and dream world, and Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), the man in charge of Lucuna Inc.


As if the rapidly deleted relationship between Joel and Clementine was not confusing enough, outside of Joel's head is a love triangle of sorts. It becomes evident that Mary and Stan are an item, yet it is not that simple. As the story develops, we are shown that Howard and Mary may have been a couple too. In today's society such a thing may seem a little odd, and out of place given the age difference. This may be another testament to how complicated love is, as there is a clear age difference between the young Mary and Dr. Howard Mierzwiak, showing there is no age limit or rules to who may end up falling in love. This, along with the turbulent times illustrated with Joel and Clementine's relationship, gives that sense of realism with love and human relationships.


Director Michel Gondry, famous for directing music videos for The White Stripes, Bjork, Daft Punk and Radiohead continues to create stunning visuals with inspiring methods. Using various methods such as defying depth perception, tricks with mirrors and lens changes means Gondry can create the desired effect of a character appearing smaller than they are, or even disappearing then reappearing on screen without the use of CGI.


After a touching battle against the deleting of his cherished memories, Joel and Clementine eventually meet up, again with no knowledge of each other. Due to unfortunate events involving Stan, Howard, and Mary, along with some questionable crying acting from Ruffalo, Joel and Clementine end up finding out they had been together before. With an unanswered, ambiguous ending comes the opportunity for the audience to make their own conclusion. From the beginning of the 'I want you to wait for just a while' request to the end, as they both say 'okay', we are left scratching our heads in what could be an unsatisfying end for some, and just the right answer for others.


This film manages to dodge the bullet when it comes to cheesy one-liners and cheap tricks that pull at the heart strings, to offer a genuinely touching film with an ending that can haunt and/or delight the audience.


There are only a couple questionable scenes of acting that should not cause the viewer to overlook the amazing writing and lines of dialogue, terrific acting, believable chemistry between Carrey and Winslet and some great support acting, which combine to make this a truly touching film.


Overall, ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ is not just a generic love story, yet more of a generic love story wrapped in a puzzle. This film may not appeal to moviegoers expecting the basic storytelling of a couple who meet, fall in love and live happily ever after. However, for those willing to work out the chronology of the events developing in Joel and Clemetine's relationship (something that may be easier to solve on the second or third viewing), ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ could end up being high on their list of the greatest romantic, love stories ever.


Watch


Country: USA
Budget: £11 million aprox.
Length: 108mins


Filmography:
‘The Truman Show’, 1998, Peter Weir, Paramount Pictures
‘The Mask’, 1994, Chuck Russell, Dark Horse Entertainment
‘Ace Ventura: Pet Detective’, 1994, Tom Shadyac, Warner Bros. Pictures
‘Human Nature', 2001, Michel Gondry, Fine Line Features
‘Being John Malkovich’, 1999, Spike Jonze, Gramercy Pictures (I)
'Titanic’, 1997, James Cameron, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
‘Sleepless in Seattle’, 1993, Nora Ephron, TriStar Pictures
'When Harry Met Sally', 1989, Rob Reiner, Castle Rock Entertainment


Pub/2008


More like this:
'Irreversible', 2002, directed by Gaspar Noe
'Lost In Translation', 2004, directed by Sofia Coppola
'Irma Vep', 1996, directed by Olivier Assayas