Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a sci-fi romance film released in 2004 and directed by Michel Gondry. After many disagreements in the relationship, a young couple decides to erase their memory of each other.
Hello, there! I’m dos Santos, and this is Ulven Reviews, with Movies and series from all over the world and all eras. Today let’s talk about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
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Joel Barish (played by Jim Carrey) is a kind and introverted man. He had problems interacting with women but, for some time, he was in a relationship with the outgoing and impulsive Clementine Kruczynski (played by Kate Winslet).
One day, after being treated very strangely and indifferently by Clementine at the bookshop she works in, Joel finds out she went through a procedure to erase every memory of him out of her mind.
Then, Joel goes after the Doctor responsible for the procedure, Dr. Mierzwiak (played by Tom Wilkinson), and his lead scientist Stan (played by Mark Ruffalo). The visit ends up with the decision of erasing Clementine from his mind as well.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an amazing film. I’ve watched it more than three times, and it’s shocking how fast and easy the movie seems to pass. It’s not because of its pace but of how well it was constructed and edited.
The narrative is not straightforward. It goes back and forth, telling the story of the relationship. It has some elements of surrealism when we’re seeing things happening inside Joel’s head during the procedure. It all fitted perfectly and reserved some good surprises as well.
It’s a remarkably original movie. I can’t remember anything quite like it. The filmmakers successfully transformed a simple concept into a very compelling film. A relatable yet impossible situation made possible through cinema.
Who never wanted to completely wipe a motherfucker out of the memory?! It might be a former lover, like in the film, a backstabbing friend, or a morally abusive boss. The movie applied this concept into a sympathetic romance.
The film has somewhat of a melancholic aura to it. However, it has many funny moments and not always driven by Jim Carrey’s comedic ability. Other characters have their moment to shine, both in the serious moments, as in the light ones.
I like the characters a lot. Before talking about the protagonist couple, I have to mention my favorites beside them, Stan and Mary (played by Kirsten Dunst). Stan is a likable and intelligent guy that adds some layers to the movie. Mary, the receptionist of Dr. Mierzwiak, is a compelling girl with a story of her own.
There’s also Patrick (played by Elijah Wood, probably his first role after The Lord of the Rings trilogy). He’s slightly bland in personality, but the situations involving him give some good laughs.
Then, there’s Joel and Clementine. They’re so believable, both as individual characters and as a couple. They have almost completely opposite personalities. Sometimes they hurt each other, so we constantly change how we feel about them and their relationship.
We care and cheer for their relationship, for the romance the movie is so marvelously portraying in front of us. And the actors, in roles so different than we are used to seeing them, play their part to perfection.
I loved the acting in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It’s really remarkable from everyone I can remember. In special, the two main actors, Kate Winslet, even receiving a nomination for best actress.
Kate Winslet would win the award four years later for her role in 2008’s The Reader. However, I don’t think it would be absurd to have awarded her the Academy Award already in 2005. She’s perfect in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Maybe this was the best opportunity for Jim Carrey to get an Oscar nomination, but he was snubbed by The Academy. He was outstanding here, showing his acting talent as a comedy actor, which he’s most known for, and as a drama actor.
We already know that The Academy doesn’t nominate people and movies outside their little traditional circle. They only chose movies like Black Panther and Get Out because of public pressure. Parasite was an absolute surprise for everyone, even the film’s cast and crew.
Anyway, many movies and professionals were snubbed by The Academy throughout the years. Jim Carrey is one of them, especially in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Moving on, the thing I like the most about the cinematography is the colors. Most in cold tones that match the gelid weather in the film. The lighting completes it, being slightly dark, simulating a cloudy sky, however, with the sun peeking through eventually.
It’s not my favorite visually speaking in general. Sometimes I feel it’s a little chaotic and messy because most of the sets were overcrowded with objects. It’s believable and gives a sense of laid-back people living in the environment, but it bothers me a little. It gives me a sense of visual pollution.
The score is very subtle and calm, kinda cute, even. You can say the score is a good match with the film and I wouldn’t disagree. However, it didn’t evoke any emotion in me, contrary to the movie, which is very emotional. It’s subjective, I just don’t feel it.
To wrap things up: I didn’t watch most of the other nominees, except for The Incredibles, but I think it’s improbable that any one of the other competitors has a better screenplay.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, as I said in the beginning, is amazing. It’s enjoyable from beginning to end, and I would recommend it to anyone, even casual watchers. I’ll give Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 9 Moons.
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Dos Ratos 