Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was released in 2004. The film has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 4.2 out of 5 review on Letterbox. This movie follows a difficult breakup between the main characters, Clementine, played by Kate Winslet, and Joel, played by Jim Carrey.
Clementine is portrayed as a manic pixie dream girl, with dyed hair and a chaotic energy attached to her, while Joel is portrayed as the protagonist who is older and lonely before crossing paths with Clementine.
[Warning: The rest of this article contains spoilers, reader discretion is advised.]
The two had a rough relationship and an even more difficult breakup. Throughout the movie, the timeline is reversed, starting from the breakup and ending when they meet. The audience is then walked backwards.
While confusing, the plot was beautifully written. I enjoyed the dark and eerie tones of the scenes. When I finished, there was an inherent need for me to sit in silence and embrace the journey I was taken through. It made me question a lot about love, the idea of soulmates, and the desire for something that might not be good for you.
My favorite part of the movie was that the first scene connected back and ended up being the last scene, so the whole movie felt like a big loop.
After the two main characters break up it is revealed that Clementine had a procedure done to completely erase Joel from her memory. Upset, Joel decides he should also have the same procedure done.
During this memory-erasing process, we see Joel’s side of the relationship as Clementine is slowly removed. We see the good and the bad of their time together. During this reflection, Joel begins to regret his decision and tries to stop it, but his attempts are unsuccessful.
In the end, the two find some way to communicate through some sort of powerful force, and the two reunite.
This movie was nothing less than an adventure that had me smiling, laughing, crying, and feeling this sense of connection to the characters.
The story has a balance of familiarity and comfort, while remaining eerie and disturbing all at the same time. Due to this conflicting feeling, the only words I could utter after watching this film were, “I hated that.” The film explored and released this feeling that is quite literally indescribable. To this day, I hate this movie (not really). But saying “I love it” won’t do the justice that this film deserves for every aspect of it.
