Written by Charlie Kaufman
Producers Steve Goin, Anthony Bergman
Starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Tom Wilkinson
Music Jon Brion
Cinematography Ellen Kuras
Director Michel Gondry and writer Charlie Kaufman reunite for what might be the most interesting movie of the decade, 2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The two first teamed up on 2001’s Human Nature, but it’s here that they truly shine together. It’s a perfect example of pure creativity, adding layer after layer of complexity, surrealism, and romance in every scene.
Jim Carrey stars as Joel Barish, a shy, mild-mannered guy who wakes up to a handful of strange things: a dent in his car, years of missing journal entries, and a sudden urge to go to Montauk, New York. On the train ride home, he meets a free-spirited woman named Clementine (Kate Winslet). They get past an awkward introduction, and before long they’re on a date on the frozen Charles River, stargazing. What neither of them knows is that they were actually together for two years.
It turns out Clementine, unhappy with the relationship, had Joel erased from her memory through Lacuna Inc., an experimental medical firm with a procedure that can wipe a person from your mind. When Joel finds out, he’s hurt enough to want the same thing so he can forget her too. Most of the movie takes place inside his head, where we watch Clementine disappear one memory at a time. The cruel twist is that the procedure erases from newest to oldest, so as the bad memories go, Joel gets to fall in love all over again with the happier, more tender ones. Terrified of losing her completely, he tries to hide her deep in his memory and runs from the erasure.
Carrey gives one of the best performances of his career and proves what a talented dramatic actor he is. Joel is soft-spoken, smart, and a little awkward, the perfect foil to Winslet’s spontaneous, hot-tempered, and damaged Clementine. They’re total opposites, yet it’s hard to imagine either of them with anyone else. When they’re happy, you’re overjoyed. When they’re hurting, you’re a wreck. When they fall in love, you feel the warmth. Their chemistry is what makes the film’s emotional depths hit so hard.
Gondry made his name directing music videos (Björk, The White Stripes), which may be why the movie feels so unique. There are some gorgeous moments of Joel and Clementine running down a snow-covered beach, a strange mix of cold and warmth that stirs up your emotions without you realizing it. Plenty of other moments feel surreal and almost hypnotic, which is weirdly one of the most romantic things about it. It captures what being in love actually feels like: a little confusing, but beautiful.
One of its greatest strengths is that it feels every side of love, from pure bliss to total heartbreak. Joel’s newest memory of Clementine is a fight that makes you wonder how these two lasted at all, but it slowly blossoms back into the romance they once shared. Even after erasing each other, they find their way back, as the opening scenes show, and another character who went through the procedure echoes that. Kaufman’s point seems to be that no matter how hard we try to forget love, it keeps pulling us back.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind perfectly captures both joy and heartbreak. It reminds us to look back on our memories with fondness and treasure them, even the painful ones. With a talented cast, unique direction, and beautiful writing, it’s one of the best films of the decade, if not of all time.
