Erasing memories of a loved one: eternal sunshine, or a black hole sun?

Rating: 10/10 (16 July 2007)

Who you are is shaped from what you've seen, what you've experienced, what you've felt, and what you've learned; getting rid of any portion of the past diminishes a part of you, it strips away a piece of you. Gondry's film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind explores love in a different way; what happens when its over, and you want to move on by destroying what had happened before. Can somebody continue living life after forgetting events that had occurred to him or her years ago? This concept is very unique, quite bizarre, but is handled so perfectly it speaks to the soul, becomes food for thought, and is a blessing disguised in 108 minutes of deep, insightful popcorn entertainment. Flawlessly written by Kaufman and Gondry, wonderfully acted by Carrey and Winslet, and beautifully directed by Gondry, Eternal Sunshine is a bittersweet movie that should bring out tears of joy and despair in anyone that has been through the highs and lows of love.
Eternal Sunshine follows a quiet, tightly wounded, almost emotionless man by the name of Joel (Jim Carrey) whom just learned that his ex-girlfriend, the carefree, impulsive, unpredictable, and needy Clementine (Kate Winslet) erased him from her memory using a special procedure. In retaliation, Joel attempts to undergo the same procedure, to destroy any living evidence of a relationship. However, as the procedure is underway and Joel is running around through the memories inside his head, he realizes just how much he still loves her and how empty he would become if the woman that turned his life around suddenly vanishes. In his mind he races to save any shred of memory of Clementine, despite the doctors successfully dismantling his mind at the same time. In the meantime, not all is well amongst the people involved with the procedure, as the memory-erasing business impacted their morals, their beliefs about love, and their sympathy towards people in general.
The movie is displayed in a very unstructured manner, which pretty much represents the hostile timeframe of recollections. Eternal Sunshine is displayed in a totally non-linear format, and repeatedly jumps settings with little or no warning whatsoever. That aspect alone requires multiple viewings of this film just to see how genius the directing and editing really is. The writing staff delivers one of the most original love tales in recent memory (pun intended), as they craft a deep story about a bond between two people that love and need each other, whether they know it or not. Every line, every bit of dialogue is important and strengthens the belief that Joel and Clementine were meant for each other.
Complimenting the writing is the excellent direction of Goundry. While the visual effects were stunning, the story propels the movie instead of the imagery, which is a rarity. Goundry doesn't just film, he films and then edits severely using a montage of colors, blurs, textures, angles, and also alternates with different speeds throughout the entire movie to set the tone and mood of the moment. His music videos aren't as great as critics claim (Personally, Spike Jonze destroys him) but all his usual music video techniques shine brilliantly in this film. Clever editing (that should have at least gotten an Oscar nod) helps display the chaos towards the climax in the movie.
Finally however, we have to give a special congratulations to Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet for providing yet another great performance as the main couple in the movie. You saw them at their happiest, their saddest, their angriest, and at their most caring. Both actors have a nice range of roles in their resume, but ranking high up there in terms of performances are the ones here. Supporting cast is very good too, especially by that of Kirsten Dunst as the adorable employee of the morally questionable company behind the memory-erasing procedure.
For being a sci-fi movie, this plays off as incredibly believable, partly because it never goes over-the-top. The erasing process was never dwelled upon nor was it totally explained as to how it works and how its possible, but raises a lot of moral questions long after the movie is over. How much would someone change after taking away a special person from their life? Even when the sun settles and it's all over, can the love still remain? Can the love still be there? Eternal Sunshine raises so many questions and leaves so much room for discussion, that it can become an event in itself to discuss the movie after watching it.
Bottom Line: With excellent acting, directing, editing, and visuals backing a unique yet engrossing story about love, memories, and all the hardships and happiness it brings, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is easily one of the best films of 2004. While the concept and the presentation of the movie may distract and even drive away the avid moviegoer, underneath the complexities of some of the scenes lies a very basic theme about moving on: You can move on, try to forget, but the love for that person remains, forever and always, and so will the memories, whether you like it or not. Just watch it, whether you are alone, with somebody, or more than one person (in which case, shame on you). But can a spotless mind be a happy mind? Not sure but a spotless film like this one is hard to catch, so whenever you have the chance to see it, take it.