Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Released: March 19, 2004

Studio: Anonymous Content, This Is That, Focus Features

Genre: sci-fi/romance

Box Office (numbers in millions):

Domestic: 34.40 Worldwide: 73.35

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: -- Worldwide: --

Directing: Michael Gondry

Screenwriting: Charlie Kaufman

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

Review:

Michael Gondry directed this movie based on a story by him, Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation), and Pierre Bismuth that Kaufman then turned into a screenplay. The title of the movie comes from Eloisa to Aberlard, a 1717 poem by Alexander Pope. ^WK The story uses “elements of psychological drama and science fiction and a nonlinear narrative to explore the nature of memory and love.” ^WK

Joel Barish (Carrey) finds out his former girlfriend, Clementine (Winslet), had a procedure to have memories of him erased. He goes to the company, Lacuna, to do the same. As the memories are being erased, however, he starts to remember happier times as they go farther back and decides he doesn’t want to forget her after all. He “would rather the memories of Clementine be unpleasant in context with their relationship, rather than…not existing at all.” ^SP

“The genius of the film is not its concept, but the way it uses reality and memory to tell the story, in a liberal and intertwining fashion that will disorient viewers.” ^SP “The story so gracefully retells the relationship that the bizarre backwards transitioning feels completely natural and flowing rather than sudden and confusing.” ^SP

“The movie is genuinely funny, tragic, and trippy, all at the same time.” ^SP Carrey and Winslet’s performances “have fantastic psychological nuance to them.” ^SP Between their story as well as some subplots about Lacuna employees, the movie leaves the viewer with the idea that even if the memories are gone, the attraction is still there and could resurface again.