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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

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When you hear the basic storyline of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," it sounds like another one of those "wacky" romantic comedies that they love to put out every month. However, when you realize that this is written by Charlie Kaufman (who also wrote "Adaptation" and "Being John Malkovich"), then you know that this will be a very different movie. This is such an enjoyable, hilarious and a brutally honest film that has immediately become a favorite of mine.

Jim Carrey plays "Joel;" a quiet and shy person who keeps to himself most of the time. He's bummed out when he discovers that his girlfriend had a new procedure done in where she has erased him from her memory. Not knowing what else to do, Joel decides that he must get the same thing done to him and goes to the clinic to have her erased from his memory, hoping that the pain and sadness will go away. When he's undergoing the procedure, unconscious and reliving the memories as they are being erased, Joel begins to realize that there were some very happy moments he had with her and he doesn't want to lose them after all.

It's really hard to categorize a movie like this. While it is indeed a comedy on some levels, it has a lot of dramatic elements to it, as well. Because of this, people will either fall in love with it or despise every minute of it. What really struck home with me is how honest and creative it really is. You'll find a lot more honesty and truth in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" than in most of the "cute" comedies that are out there today. It is extremely easy to relate to the characters, and that is what makes it all the more realistic for us. Jim Carrey is absolutely fantastic in this, as he is very controlled and doesn't try to steal the show. This is when you really get to see his acting skills shine. Kate Winslet takes the challenge of playing opposite of Carrey head-on and succeeds every single time. We cannot forget about Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst and Tom Wilkinson, who also make the movie that much more entertaining.

What I really admire about the movie is the theme of it, and that is that just because a relationship doesn't work out in the end, it doesn't mean that it was time wasted. Sure, there are certain memories we wish would go away somehow, but how would that change us as a person if we could do such a thing? We learn from our experiences; from the good and the bad. That's how we mature as human-beings, and Kaufman's clever writing really establishes that perfectly. The DVD has some cool extras, such as behind-the-scenes documentaries, audio commentary from the writer and the director, deleted scenes and more.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" remains the best film to come out of 2004 for me. It's strange, yet clever; funny yet sad, and imaginative, yet honest. If you're looking for a risk-taking film that is like a breath of fresh air, then I highly recommend this excellent picture. This can possibly be the best movie of Jim Carrey's career. Take a chance and find out why so many people are raving about it in the first place. -Michael Crane

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, which I saw tonight in an advance screening, is the most twisted, original romantic comedy I've seen in a long time. Coming from the mind of Charlie Kaufman, this film is luckily more in the vein of BEING JOHN MALKOVICH and ADAPTATION than HUMAN NATURE.

The film, which operates on the premise that people can delete bad relationships from their memories, travels essentially backward down its story's timeline. It examines several key themes regarding compatibility, fate and how our memories can make up who we are.

Jim Carrey, who plays his role of Joel straight rather than wacky, delivers his best and most human performance since THE TRUMAN SHOW. But the movie, thankfully, belongs to Kate Winslet. As Clementine, the girlfriend who Joel wants to either love or forget, Winslet is wacky, colorful and hilarious - the sort of girl you want to either love or strangle.

While their central story plays out mostly within Joel's brain, several equally interesting subplots emerge involving the memory-erasing workers played by Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Tom Wilkinson.

The thing I like best about Charlie Kaufman scripts is that I don't always know where they're going but, in the end, they cover all their bases, address all the philosophical questions inherent in their twisted plots and always leave me entertained. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND is a terrific movie.

I think that people who say that there's no such thing as an original plot ought to see this movie and see if they still believe it afterwards.

"Eternal Sunshine" is just as creative as "Being John Malkovich" but without the characters who did despicable things (i.e. taking over people's bodies) in the latter movie. Instead, the story centers around Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) who are two very appealing "nice people."

I'm a guy, so naturally my eyes are on Kate Winslet. She really does merit the description that one critic gave her, "very easy to fall in love with" (I know I have). Besides this movie, I've seen her in two other great roles in "Sense and Sensibility" and "Enigma." In "Eternal Sunshine" she plays the shy man's dream girl: a wacky, flaky woman who lights up every scene that she's in. Yet she's also a wounded spirit, fighting a problem with alcohol.

Jim Carrey does a fine job playing Clementine's soul mate (and in some ways her polar opposite). He's a quiet introspective man with none of the trademark Carrey goofiness. Joel is someone I could readily imagine being, unlike if the role was played by better known actors who never play anything less than flawless human beings.

I won't spoil the plot beyond the fact that I thought it was a life-affirming story about the part of a love affair that usually gets short shrift, when people either come to terms with or fail to come to terms with the shortcomings of their significant others. The special effects and science-fiction conceit of memory erasure give the love story of Clementine and Joel a lift that a more straightforward narrative would lack.

On a final note: some people will probably read the script that is available on the Internet before seeing this movie. I did and sort of wish I hadn't because the movie would have been a little fresher to me. However, those who did read the script and were put off by the ending there should go see "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" anyway because the movie's outcome is infinitely better.

I hope that there's a Clementine out there for me somewhere. Until then, I at least have a memory of a very nice romantic comedy that left me a little teary eyed at the end --but in a good way. I would only erase it if I could get to watch it again.

Charlie Kaufman is known for creating films that bend the mind -- "Being John Malkovich," "Adaptation," "Human Nature." But he takes a slightly different turn in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," a sort of romantic dark comedy that raises questions about memory and identity. It may not be the best of Kaufman's work, but it's in some ways the most endearing.

Uptight Joel (Jim Carrey) is shocked to learn that his likably flaky ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has taken unusual measures, post-breakup. She's having her memories of him erased from her brain at Lacuna Inc. When he learns WHY she broke up with him (she thought he was boring), he gets mad and decides to have the same thing done to himself.

So a group of offbeat techies and doctors (Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Kirsten Dunst) begin to erase the memories of Clementine from Joel's brain (Wood's character also tries to use Joel's memories to seduce Clementine). Problem is, his brain doesn't want to let them go. It pokes Clementine into parts of his memory where she doesn't belong, so he won't have to let go. And viewing the memories makes him fall in love all over again...

"Dark romantic comedy" is the closest thing that "Eternal Sunshine" has to a description. Like Kaufman's other films, it's funny in a subtle way, and more obviously sweet and romantic. Not to mention thought-provoking. If you could erase unpleasant memories, would you do it, if it changed the person you were? If we get rid of the pain, do we also get rid of the joy?

Michel Gondry is best known for his work on Bjork, Radiohead and White Stripes music videos -- deliciously strange ones. Somehow, he fits perfectly into directing "Eternal Sunshine." A trip through a person's brain is a hard thing to manage, but he does it -- surreal little images like a teeny tiny Winslet and Carrey bathing in a kitchen sink, or lying on the ice. It's weird, and it works. At the same time, he can capture more mundane moments well.

Jim Carrey gives what may be his best "serious" role ever, as the conflicted, lovelorn Joel. Kate Winslet's Clementine breaks the mold of "romantic comedy heroine" with her free-spirited wackiness. Together, they make a flawed couple that you really want to see together. And Elijah Wood takes what could have been an empty role and turns Patrick into a rather pitiful, lonely figure, rather than a 2-D creep.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is not the best from Charlie Kaufman's fertile brain, but this melancholy dark comedy is well worth checking out. A wonderful, prismatic film.

I've never submitted a review before, cause I never had a reason to. I was lucky that I got a chance to see the sneak preview. I had no idea what it was about before seeing it. I think sometimes it's better that way. Nothing was given away before it was meant to, and you have no false expectations before seeing the movie.

It is, by far, one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. And there were some good ones in the past few years. It makes you really appreciate life, all the good and all the bad, and it will move you if you've ever been in a relationship. But in general anyone should and could appreciate this movie. It has some neat special effects that isn't over the top. Very appropriate and subtle that simply compliments the movie. It's a thinking movie, in that afterwards it gives you a different perspective on your current, past, and maybe future relationship (if you still remember by that time). And I think it's for the better.

I don't want to give anything away, and ruin your experience with the movie. Go with an open mind. You'll enjoy it, I promise.

I've got this habit of reading the lowest rated comments, first.

And no matter how many I read for this movie, none of them seem valid.

Of course the movie is confusing. It's Charlie Kaufman. This movie doesn't flow, it glides. It flies. And if you stop paying attention for even a split second, you could and will get completely thrown off.

In a country obsessed with disorders of the attention span, it's no wonder so many people disliked the concept. It makes people do what they don't want to do, and that's think.

One of the best movies I have seen in all my years.

If you've seen the trailer, you know the plot: Jim Carrey's Lowell discovers that his ex-girlfriend (Kate Winslet's Clementine) has had all memories of him erased by a company called Lacuna, Inc. So Lowell decides to get all of his memories of her erased, too. Then, during the procedure, he changes his mind and tries to save her from within literally vanishing memories.
This is not the whole plot, but it is enough to get by on--and saying anymore would give away too much: the movie is kingly in its execution of plot twists.
Other characters worth noting are the doctor who erases Lowell's memories, and his girlfriend Mary; and Patrick (Elijah Wood), who helps the doctor and gets himself rather thickly embroiled in another part of the plot as well; and the head of Lacuna Inc, who is definitely not the guy he appears to be.
Obviously, this film has an unusual premise. In fact, the entire film is unusual--and deliciously wonderful. Most of it takes place within Lowell's head, within warped memories in which fences and people vanish and people who don't belong appear; and oftentimes the settings change as swiftly and with as little fuss as scenery often does in our dreams. Yet it never becomes confusing and certainly never ridiculous: the movie sucks you in and the unreality of much of it seems oddly realistic, probably because it is the sort of unreality that we find in our heads and that we endure nearly every night when we dream. You don't even notice that the movie is particularly surreal: it feels far more realistic than your average romantic comedy or action movie, certainly!
Much of this film is not surreal in any way. We get many glimpses of Lowell's memories--obviously--and they are amazingly engaging, running the gamut of emotional extremes and not-so-extremes in Lowell and Clementine's relationship.
All of them actors and actresses do a marvelous job. Jim Carrey is especially wonderful; Elijah Wood, though with a fairly minor part, has one of the best entrances I have ever seen in a film. Kate Winslet's Clementine catches you off-balance when you realize how much you believe in her, with all her strangeness.
This is one of the most creative movies I have seen in a while. I worry about using words like "creative" and "surreal" in this review: they are accurate, but they arouse the wrong connotations. One hardly has to be a fan of abstract art to enjoy this film! Indeed, it should appeal to a wide range of audience types--it could be anything from a romantic comedy to an "arty" film to whatever you call poignant, realistic movies. It lets you do detective work, handing you clues subtly and without giving the best trick away until the end--but if you don't enjoy putting two and two together at the cinema, you aren't required to either.
This film is practically impossible to describe. If you find the trailer (go to the Focus Features website), that will give you a fairly good taste of it. But really good films should not be overly described, and I would hate to give away any of Eternal Sunshine's tricks. So forget descriptions: just go see it. In a time when a lot of movies start to look the same, Eternal Sunshine is unique and uniquely wonderful.

The words Charlie Kaufman and simple shouldn't really be put in the same sentence, but in the end, this movie is a simple love story. The story revolves around Joel Barish/Jim Carrey who meets Clementine/Kate Winslet and thus begins their tumultuous relationship. They break up. She gets her memories of him removed at Lacuna Inc. Joel finds out the hard way after a failed attempt at trying to reconcile their relationship to find she doesn't have any idea who he is and decides to have the procedure done too just to spite her.
I too have posed the question of whether or not, if given the opportunity, I would have unpleasant memories erased. The thing is, I think the story proved that you can erase the memory, but the idea will always be there (as is the case with both Celmentine/Joel as with Mary and Howard.)
I loved the way Gondry shot the movie going in one instance at the bookstore Clementine works at and fading as Joel walks in the next room where he is visiting friends. I know it's nothing revoluntionary, but it stood out for me.
I must also admit, that these past few years, I've had a new grown respect for Jim Carrey as an actor. When he first started out, he annoyed the living crap out of me with, what I felt, were pointless excuses for him to put $15 million in his pocket. However, ever since "The Truman Show" he has chosen roles which are different from the ones we're used to. This role, in particular, was interesting in that Joel Barish is a quiet introvert who pretty much keeps to himself which is, what I think, the total opposite of what we usually see with Jim Carrey.
The rest of the cast, did an excellent job as well. It took me a while to adapt to Elijah Wood's turn as a stalker type of character who stole Joel's possessions which reminded him of Clementine in order to woo her. However, it was welcomed considering that I spent the last 3 years watching him as a humble hobbit.
If you're a fan of Kaufman, don't waste any time, go see this movie. In my book, nothing has yet to top "Being John Malkovich," but it is one his best in my opinion.

I want to give a useful review and not just merely go over the plot for you, as this has been done roughly 600 times already. I don't typically review movies online but felt a need to since several things which I noticed about this movie were not mentioned by other reviewers. While the movie is confusing the first time it is watched it does significantly improve with each subsequent viewing. I could not help but notice the complexity of this film and have watched it at least four times. My first opinion was that this was a film about Joel (Jim Carrey) getting to have a second chance with his lover, Clementine. She seemed to have erased her memory of him before he had a chance to ask her to even reconsider breaking up with him. He likewise erases his memories of her just as quickly. So the film initially seemed to have the message of second chances, and getting to start again without baggage from the first failed attempt at the relationship. This was my initial impression and although it is optimistic and reassuring, my final impression of the film is different and as follows:

Throughout Joel's memories of the relationship, he is needy and Clementine usually snaps at him and or does not respond to him in an emotionally giving way. He later has a memory of himself as a little boy with his mother ignoring him and of his crying and desperately wanting her to pay attention to him. He remarks about how strong his childish urge for her attention is. Clementine seems to be filling the same role in his life, that of remaining emotionally elusive and staying out of reach so that Joel is essentially crying out for attention to an unresponsive female. Then, when Joel is trying to hang on to memories of Clementine he imagines interactions with her running with him and trying to hide herself in his oldest memories so that she won't be erased from his mind. She is kind and loving to Joel and holds him and consoles him when he is sad. It is interesting that these interactions are merely his imaginations and projections of what he actually needs her to be and not who and what Clementine actually is. All Joel's memories of their actual interactions paint a picture of a moody, substance abusing, iritable, unpredictable, flaky and impulsive person. There is no reason to think she is what he needs as she is incapable of fulfilling his emotional needs. THe films ending leaves one with the impression that Joel's co-dependency and drive to be with an uncaring woman will not stop even in the face of her erasing him from his memory. Rejection seems to goad him on and he gets her, and one seems to know it is only to lose her again later. I think the movie is brilliant and complex in its telling of such an unpopular theme as co-dependency and emotional neediness to the point where it is so self-denigrating and self-defeating. I didn't feel the movie portrayed either Joel or Clementine as the bad guy or good guy in the relationship, just as two different people who were not right for each other. Also it is a rare treat to see a movie that uses the visual effects in order to accurately convey the emotions the characters are feeling. I recommend the movie, just not as a comedy as it was a dramatic film.

Don't we all love a film that begs, nay, demands a second or even third viewing? Eternal Sunshine requires great concentration but not laborious concentration although the subject matter can get a bit weighty when examining the metaphysical questions that the film raises. While the movie appears disjointed, it untwists itself to reveal a masterful story that has very few obvious holes other than the fanciful idea that memories could be selectively erased.

We begin in the apartment of Joel Barrish (Jim Carrey) as he awakens, seemingly deliriously, and begins his day -- Valentine's Day. On his way to work, he finds that his car has been dented, allowing the audience to relate to his character instantly. He's a brooding, self-effacing 30 something who's quite amiable when engaged but withdrawn. Impulsively, he decides to call in sick and hop a train to the beach. Of course, the beach is frigid, and, for that reason, is deserted save for a girl in a bright orange sweatshirt, Clementine. As the only two crazy enough to visit the beach in February, they seem to have an instant connection although their personalities are diametrical: Joel is an introvert, and Clementine is an extrovert. Clementine engages Joel, and they begin a firecracker relationship that begins with a visit to the Charles River.

The sanguine to his melancholy, Clementine seems to breathe life into the boring Joel, but just like that, she's gone. After a fight, Joel tries to reconcile the situation, but Clementine acts like she's never met him before. Confused, Joel seeks the advice of his friends, one of which, informs him that Clementine has had all of her memories of Joel erased by a company named Lacuna. In disbelief, Joel visits the "clinic" only to have his fear confirmed: Clementine has indeed erased Joel from her memory. Joel decides that he too will have the procedure because it's too painful for him to remember her. During the procedure, Joel is forced to reflect on his memories of Clementine, and he realizes that there were a lot of good times, great times.

Joel has a change of heart, but the procedure has begun, and there's no turning back. Fighting to keep his memory of Clementine alive, we embark on a strange, imaginative (figuratively and literal) journey that evokes the full gamut of emotions. We're forced to confront how we conduct ourselves in and out of relationships. Ultimately, we see the best and worst sides of human nature, from the manipulative to the purely altruistic, and how they play a role, for better or worse, in a relationship.

Jim Carrey delivers a knock out performance with Kate Winslet stealing her fair share of scenes herself. The plot twists are superb and keep you guessing throughout the first viewing. Thanks to the disjointed timeline, we're kept one step behind, but we piece the story together to uncover the puzzle, jerking a tear or two and busting a gut along the way. I watched the movie with my brother the first time, and he thought it was stupid. For me, I was floored. It spoke to me. You will likely either love or find it over-hyped. I had to watch it again, and it flies by the second time. I could watch it over and over again because there are so many different takes on the message. It's a must see for anybody who's ever been in a relationship.