Friday, August 9, 2019

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, R)


Back in high school, Eternal Sunshine was my incredible introduction to the cracked inventiveness of screenwrite Charlie Kaufman and the striking visual magic of director Michel Gondry. It was the combined forces of two singular auteurs, and I’d never seen the like. It blew my little Midwestern mind, and over the years, as my exposure to and tastes in film stretched to assorted new horizons, Eternal Sunshine always remained as a back-pocket title to throw out when the subject of favorite movies comes up. I rewatched for the first time in what’s probably been at least five years, and I was struck by it anew (premise spoilers.)

Still reeling from his breakup with his girlfriend Clementine, Joel is horrified to learn that she’s undergone a little-known medical procedure to have him erased from her memory. In a fit of pique, he decides to do the same to her. But after Joel is put under and starts to see his memories of Clementine darken and vanish, he changes his mind. Powerless to stop the procedure, he and the Clementine of his memory search for a safe, hidden place in his mind where she won’t be erased.

What a terrific example of audacious, ambitious indie weirdness. I love the concept of Lacuna and how the film mixes its sci-fi premise with such mundanity. I love how authentic the memories of Joel and Clementine’s relationship feel, with oddball private jokes, pointless fights, and extraordinary moments of connection within small incidents; you root for them to make it even as you understand why they broke up. The visual devices used to depict the world of Joel’s memories are great (this was before things like Hannibal or Legion, but Eternal Sunshine still pulls off some pretty superb visuals.)

Seeing it again, I really examined the character of Clementine, and on the whole, I maintain that the movie does a good job with her. She can present as very Manic Pixie Dream Girl-ish, but the film takes the time to show that 1) her effervescence and whimsy can’t “fix” whatever needs mending in the guy she’s seeing and 2) she’s her own kind of messed up all by herself. In fact, she recognizes the ideas that men project onto her and expressly warns Joel against them (it doesn’t work, and he still views her initially as more of a concept than a person.) Joel, meanwhile, is mostly a nice guy but can also be a bit of a Nice Guy who lets himself be pushed around and then flaunts his hurt feelings in a mild bid to incite guilt. Though the two are very different, their being drawn to each other makes its own sort of sense, and just as both bring good to the relationship, both hurt it as well.

Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are both awesome in the lead roles. I know that salivating over a comedic actor giving a dramatic performance is a huge thing, but Carry is just great as Joel, and Winslet’s Clementine is a force of nature who puts everything on the table at basically all times. The film also features a mid-Spider-Man Kirsten Dunst and a post-Lord of the Rings Elijah Wood (oh, the early-2000s of it all! they listen to CDs, too,) as well as Mark Ruffalo, Tom Wilkinson, and a brief appearance from David Cross.

Warnings

Language, sexual content, drinking/drug use, brief violence, and thematic elements.

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