While I'm hardly the first to praise Kaufman's screenplay, the thing that impresses me the most about its structure is that it continues to reveal nuances to me, even after having watched the film a dozen times before. An eccentric Wilkinson is over-confident and weak, Dunst is flighty and troubled, Ruffalo is naïve and hesitant, and Wood is dark and desperate. Better still, the supporting cast is peppered with fantastic, dual-natured performances. Adorable at one moment and bitter the next, the actress masterfully moves through four different character arcs in the course of a single film. Winslet is also a revelation, crafting Clementine into a manic, self-centered force that leads a conflicted life. Moments of humor with the comedian are sweet and authentic, but never drift over-the-top as one might expect. Those with a keen mind, a hungry intellect, and the desire to unravel practical and metaphysical mysteries are sure to fall in love with 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.'Ĭarrey pulls off the dramatic role of a lifetime, infusing his portrayal of Joel with naturalistic pathos and genuine humanity. Gondry takes it one step further by actually demanding patience from his audience - in fact, it's absolutely crucial to pay close attention to the timeline of Joel's memories (here's a hint: keep your eye on Clementine's hair color to piece together the history of their relationship). Sound complicated? While the story is a bit daunting to follow the first time through, Kaufman's screenplay allows his audience to decipher exactly what's happening inside of Joel's mind without drowning in impenetrable subplots or character arcs. Fighting to wake up, he takes a journey through literal incarnations of his subconscious realities and dream worlds to hide memories of Clementine from the technicians. At this point, the story takes a sudden turn for the surreal as an unconscious Joel decides he doesn't want to forget his painful past after all.
When anger, revenge, and loss pushes him to pursue the same procedure, a trio of technicians (Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, and Elijah Wood) arrive at Joel's apartment to remove the memories of Clementine from his mind.
However, shortly after their separation, Joel discovers that Clementine has hired a local psychiatrist (Tom Wilkinson) to erase her memory of their time together. 'Eternal Sunshine' introduces Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet), two volatile lovers who meet by chance, enter into a tumultuous relationship, and eventually drift apart. Injecting subtle sci-fi overtones into an all-too-familiar modern world, Gondry and Kaufman construct a dense and surprisingly poignant maze for their main characters and audience - one that speaks directly to our personalities, experiences, and the whole of the human condition. MICHEL GONDRY ENJOYS BEING FORCED TO IMPROVISE.If you could willingly erase the memory of a painful relationship from your consciousness, would you? Director Michel Gondry and writer Charlie Kaufman ask this exact question with 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,' a trippy, time-bending examination of memory, love, and a lonely man's encounter with heartache.
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Carrey and Winslet lying next to a crack in the ice would become one of the film’s iconic images. Luckily, New York State had a fierce winter that year, and the lake froze over as hoped. The script called for snow and ice, but Gondry was prepared to omit such details if the weather didn’t cooperate.
YOU CAN THANK MOTHER NATURE FOR THAT CLASSIC SCENE ON THE FROZEN LAKE. To enhance your next viewing of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, here are some details you might not know, or that maybe you used to know before you paid someone to erase them. The mind-bending romantic dramedy with Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet is the perfect pairing of bizarre screenwriter Charlie Kaufman ( Adaptation, Being John Malkovich) and whimsical French director Michel Gondry, whose unique vision would later be seen in The Science of Sleep and Be Kind Rewind. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has earned a place in moviegoers’ hearts, not to mention plenty of “best movies of the 21st-century” lists.