Occasionally, a movie comes around that is different than any movie that has come before it. “Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind” is one of those movies. The plot slowly unfolds, revealing more and more to the audience as it bounces around chronologically and jumps in between reality and the mind of Joel, a soft-spoken introvert played wonderfully by Jim Carrey. The result is one of the most creative, touching, and relatable movies ever created.
The film is based around the idea of memory deletion – a company called Lacuna Inc. has invented a process to erase painful memories as a solution for heartbreak. If you can’t remember the pain, you will always be happy, right? As the film unfolds, we see that life and love are not quite as simple as that.
Jim Carrey stars as Joel, a mild-mannered man who falls for Clementine, an eccentric and outgoing girl played marvellously by Kate Winslet. While Carrey is known for his wacky facial expressions and over-the-top characters, some of his strongest performances come from his ability to play relatable ‘everyman’ characters. Along with The Truman Show, this may be his most moving performance. Holding back his natural energy and silliness, he creates a character who feels immensely real and with whom the audience can connect to.
While Carrey and Winslet have fantastic chemistry, their true strength lies in how real the characters feel. Unlike most on-screen love stories, the characters seem authentic: both Joel and Clementine are not perfect or dazzlingly good looking, but are often quirky, immature, frustrating, and irrational. This is what makes them so endearing – we connect with the characters because we see ourselves in them. Likewise, the love story is not perfect. In fact, it explores the complicated nature of love and its complex blend of joy, pain, affection, sadness, and companionship.
Written by Charlie Kaufman, who is known for his bizarrely imaginative screenplays, this may be his most human film. The story showcases Kaufman’s skill as a writer and contains some fantastically innovative ideas, while the film’s emotional centre keeps us grounded amidst an intricate plotline and narrative tropes that are completely outlandish.
Director Michael Gondry handles the metaphysical aspects of the story with confidence, creating the insides of Joel’s mind in a way that feels believable. Rather than feeling gimmicky, any surreal elements feel organic and natural. He uses many film techniques very effectively, such as the manipulation of perspective to make Joel appear to be the size of a child. Another brilliant choice is Gondry’s use of colour, especially how Clementine’s hair changes colour according to the chronology of the memories.
While Joel and Clementine’s romance is more than enough to make this movie fantastic, the side plot involving Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood, and Mark Ruffalo adds another dimension. All three provide solid performances and, as the film develops, Kaufman and Gondry interweave the A and B plots in unpredictable ways. As everything falls into place in the final 30 minutes, the film shifts from great to spectacular.
All in all, this is a brilliant movie that succeeds on many levels. Charming, touching, and exceptionally creative, “Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind” is a film that will not easily be forgotten.
–by Kieran Davey
