Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a 2004 American romantic science fiction dramedy
film about an estranged couple who have each other erased from their memories, written
by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry. The film uses elements of science
fiction, psychological thriller, and a nonlinear narrative to explore the nature of memory
and romantic love. It opened in North America on March 19, 2004, and grossed over $70 million
worldwide. Kaufman and Gondry wrote the story with Pierre
Bismuth. The ensemble cast includes Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo,
Elijah Wood, Tom Wilkinson, Jane Adams, and David Cross.
The film opened to high acclaim from film critics, with much praise centering around
its acting and writing. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and has
a cult following. Winslet also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
Plot Emotionally withdrawn Joel Barish and unrestrained
free spirit Clementine Kruczynski strike up a relationship on a Long Island Rail Road
train from Montauk, New York. They are almost immediately drawn to each other despite their
radically different personalities. Although they do not realize it at the time,
Joel and Clementine are in fact former lovers, now separated after having spent two years
together. After a fight, Clementine hired the New York City firm Lacuna, Inc. to erase
all her memories of their relationship. Upon discovering this, Joel is devastated and decides
to undergo the procedure himself, a process that takes place while he sleeps.
Much of the film takes place in Joel's mind. As his memories are erased, Joel finds himself
revisiting them in reverse. Upon seeing happier times of love with Clementine from earlier
in their relationship, he struggles to preserve at least some memory of her and his love for
her. Despite his efforts, the memories are slowly erased, with the last memory of Clementine
telling him, "Meet me in Montauk." In separate but related story arcs occurring
during Joel's memory erasure, the employees of Lacuna are revealed to be more than peripheral
characters. Patrick, one of the Lacuna technicians performing the erasure, is dating Clementine
while viewing Joel's memories, and copying aspects of their relationship in order to
seduce her. Mary, the Lacuna receptionist, is dating the other memory-erasing technician,
Stan. As it turns out, Mary had an affair with Dr. Howard Mierzwiak, the married doctor
who heads the company—a relationship which she agreed to have erased from her memory
when it was discovered by his wife. Once Mary learns this, she quits her job, confronts
Stan about his knowledge of her relationship with Howard, steals the company's records,
and sends them out to all the company's clients. Joel and Clementine come upon their Lacuna
records shortly after re-encountering each other on the train. They react with shock
and bewilderment, given that they have no clear memory of having known each other, let
alone having had a relationship and having had their memories erased. Joel beckons Clementine
to start over; Clementine initially resists, pointing out it could go the same way. Joel
accepts this, and they decide to attempt a relationship anyway, starting their life together
anew. Cast
Jim Carrey as Joel Barish Ryan Whitney as young Joel
Kate Winslet as Clementine Kruczynski Lola Daehler as young Clementine
Kirsten Dunst as Mary Svevo Mark Ruffalo as Stan Fink
Elijah Wood as Patrick Tom Wilkinson as Howard Mierzwiak
Jane Adams as Carrie Eakin David Cross as Rob Eakin
Deirdre O'Connell as Hollis Mierzwiak Thomas Jay Ryan as Frank
Debbon Ayer as Joel's mother Literary references
The title is taken from the poem Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope, the story of a
tragic love affair, where forgetfulness became the heroine's only comfort:
How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd;
Lacuna Inc., the fictional firm in the film, derives its name from the Latin "lacuna" which
means a gap or missing part; lacunar amnesia is a gap in one's memory about a specific
event. Reception
Critical reception Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was
met with overwhelming acclaim, earning a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 93%, making it
the second most acclaimed Jim Carrey film, after The Truman Show. Winslet's performance
was generally praised. Roger Ebert commented, "Despite jumping through the deliberately
disorienting hoops of its story, Eternal Sunshine has an emotional center, and that's what makes
it work." Ebert later included the film in his "Great Movies" series. Similarly, A. O.
Scott of The New York Times praised the film for being "cerebral, formally and conceptually
complicated, dense with literary allusions and as unabashedly romantic as any movie you’ll
ever see." Time Out summed up their review by saying,
"the formidable GondryCarrey axis works marvel after marvel in expressing the bewildering
beauty and existential horror of being trapped inside one's own addled mind, and in allegorising
the self-preserving amnesia of a broken but hopeful heart."
In 2006, in issue 201 of Empire, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was voted #83 in their
201 Greatest Movies of All Time poll as voted for by readers. That same year, Winslet's
performance as Clementine was included in Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Performances
of All Time at #81. Claudia Puig, reviewer in USA Today said about her performance that
"Winslet is wonderful as a free spirit whose hair color changes along with her moods. She
hasn't had such a meaty role in a while, and she plays it just right."
Carol Vernallis points out that Gondry's experience in directing music videos contributed to the
film's mise-en-scène and sound design. Vernallis describes some threads of the visual, aural
and musical motifs throughout the film, and how some motifs can work in counterpoint.
In November 2009, Time Out New York ranked the film as the third-best of the decade:
In the past, both director Michel Gondry's kindergarten arts-and-crafts aesthetic and
Charlie Kaufman's Möbius-striptease scripts have come off as insufferably twee and gimmicky.
So why does this existential meta-rom-com always leave us teary-eyed and genuinely moved?...[T]he
duo finally finds the right combination of high-concept and humanity here, taking the
what-if idea of a company that lobotomizes the lovelorn into territory that's funny,
painful, poetic and unsettlingly weird.
Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Only the bizarre
and byzantine brain of Charlie Kaufman could turn this 2004 story about erasing all memories
of love into one of the most romantic movies of the decade." Slant Magazine placed the
film at number 87 on their list of the best films of the 2000s. Paste Magazine named it
one of the 50 Best Movies of the Decade, ranking it at number 5.
At the end of 2009, The Onion's A.V. Club rated Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
as the number one film of the 2000s, beating out the likes of Christopher Nolan's Memento
and the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men. The article states, "It's the rare film
that shows us who we are now and who we're likely, for better or worse, forever to be."
It has been calculated to be the 11th most critically acclaimed film of the 2000s by
virtue of its number of appearances on prominent 'films of the decade' lists.
In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked the film at #24 on its list of "101 Greatest
Screenplays". Accolades
Kaufman, Gondry, and Bismuth won the 2004 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. AFI recognition
The film was nominated for placement on two American Film Institute lists.
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies - Nominated AFI's 10 Top 10 - Nominated Science Fiction
Film Music and soundtrack
The soundtrack album for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was released by Hollywood
Records on March 16, 2004. The score was composed by Los Angeles musician
Jon Brion. Other songs are from artists such as The Polyphonic Spree, The Willowz, and
Don Nelson. Beck, in a collaboration with Brion, provides a cover version of the Korgis'
"Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime". Home video
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was released on DVD in the U.S. in separate anamorphic
widescreen and full screen editions on September 28, 2004. Both editions carry English Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround, English DTS 5.1 Surround and French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround tracks.
Bonus features included on this disc are: Feature commentary with director Michel Gondry
and writer Charlie Kaufman Deleted scenes
A Look Inside Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
A Conversation with Jim Carrey and Michel Gondry
The Polyphonic Spree "Light & Day" music video Lacuna, Inc. commercial
A special two-disc widescreen Collector's Edition DVD was released in the U.S. on January
4, 2005. Features on Disc 1 are identical to the single-disc edition. Bonus features
on the two-disc edition include: Collectible packaging and booklet with photos
A Conversation with Kate Winslet and Michel Gondry
Inside the Mind of Michel Gondry Additional deleted / extended scenes
Anatomy of a Scene: Saratoga Avenue "The Misadventures of Superdog" by Joel Bar(r)ish
A HD DVD edition was released in the U.S. on April 24, 2007, with a 1080p/VC-1 video
transfer, and both English and French Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround tracks. This edition
includes all the bonus features from the two-disc Collector's Edition, sans the collectible
packaging and booklet. A Blu-ray edition was released in the U.S.
on January 25, 2011, with a 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC video transfer, and English DTS-HD Master
Audio 5.1 Surround and French DTS 5.1 Surround tracks. This edition also includes all the
bonus features from the two-disc Collector's Edition, sans the collectible packaging and
booklet. References
External links Official website
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at the Internet Movie Database
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at AllMovie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at Rotten
Tomatoes Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at Box
Office Mojo Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind review
by Roger Ebert Nick Madigan. "Pic pitch plays at Propaganda".
Variety.