Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind |
2004 | 1h 48m
Genre: Dark Romance/Psychological
Drama/Drama/Romance/Sci-fi | Country: US
Director: Michel Gondry | Writers:
Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, Pierre Bismuth
Cast: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom
Wilkinson
IMDB: 8.3
My Rate: 8/10
Joel finds out that Clementine erased her memories of their relationship and decides to do the same. But he realizes those memories are too precious to erase and tries to stop it.
Warning:
Contains sensual scenes, alcohol, drugs,
and strong language.
Synopsis:
Joel (Jim Carrey) bumps into Clementine (Kate Winslet) on a trip to the beach. There's a familiar feeling that draws them to each other. Joel and Clementine get close that day. They don't realize there's a secret hidden between them.
Joel and Clementine were a couple before. But they had a fight and Clementine decided to erase her memories of Joel. Joel meets Clementine after the fight, but she seems different. It's like she doesn't recognize him and is already with another guy.
Joel feels hurt and thinks Clementine cheated. But Joel's friend tells him the truth, that Clementine went through a memory erasure process and erased all memories related to Joel. Joel goes to the erasure place and asks about the truth.
After hearing the real facts, Joel decides to do the same. He's going to erase all his memories of Clementine. He gathers all the things that remind him of their relationship and goes through the memory erasure process.
During the process, Joel 'relives' all the memories they shared. The bitter and beautiful memories make Joel realize how important Clementine is to him. He tries to stop the erasure process in every way possible.
Will Joel succeed in keeping his memories?
Review:
Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, the title is taken from the poem Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope in 1717. The story idea is really interesting, combining psychology and fiction. The imagination about memories in the human brain is presented systematically and is easy to understand.
The scene opens with aesthetics in terms of lighting, cinematography, and camera movement. Plus, the color composition is pretty cool. The narration at the beginning of the film is also important, promising a twist that connects to the interesting story.
The foundation of the story, the conflict, and the resolution are all built and presented really well. Especially when the audience is taken into Joel's memories and everything that happens in them. Those scenes really play with the audience's emotions.
Unfortunately, those aesthetic and meaningful scenes are a little interrupted by the many scenes showing the memory erasure staff at Joel's house. From pointless conversations, activities that show their unprofessionalism, and other things that don't really need to be shown so much. This scene seems to take up too much time in the overall movie, which is a bit distracting.
Logically, it doesn't make sense either and doesn't align. This place has a lot of experience doing memory erasure for its patients. You can see that from the number of people who come to get their services. But none of their staff work professionally. They even take the erasure process lightly, you can see it in their attitude, like playing on the patient's bed, messing up the house, and taking the patient's things without permission. Even though the process, as explained by the doctor at the place, has the risk of damaging the patient's brain.
The good thing about this movie is that it shows that even if we try to erase memories of someone, our hearts can't hide our feelings and connection to that person. You can see how Joel and Clementine are still connected to each other even though their memories are erased. This storyline reminds me of the movie Little Fish (2020).
Overall, in terms of story, this movie has
an interesting and romantic story. It's perfect for cinephiles who like films
with this kind of theme.
Memorable Scene:
In the final stage of his memory erasure, Joel says goodbye to Clementine in his memories. He never said goodbye to her in real life. So, this scene is like a portrayal of the guilt and regret he's been hiding.
In relationships, many relationships end
without closure. This makes the relationship end badly and leaves unfinished
feelings on both sides, whether it's regret, anger, etc. From this scene, we
realize that a good closure is needed to make each person feel relieved.
Memorable Dialogue:
"She decided to erase you almost as a lark."
Ending:
Happy Ending
Recommendation:
Worth to Watch
(Aluna)
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