Live Life Team
“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is a film that uses very creative, quirky techniques to tell a quite simple love story. To go too far into the plot would be to ruin the unpredictable twists and turns. Simply put, the film tells the story of Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) as lovers whose relationship has run its course.
Shortly after their break-up, Joel receives a letter informing him that Clementine has undergone a medical procedure designed to erase him from her memory. Joel confronts the people who gave Clem the procedure and decides he wants the same Clem erased from his memory. However, as we watch the procedure take place in Joel’s subconscious, Joel falls back in love with Clem.
Lesser filmmakers might have allowed the eccentricities to overshadow the plot, but director Michel Gondry and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman use the tricks to enhance the story. For example, Joel changes his mind halfway through the procedure. When he can’t communicate with the technicians, he decides to hide Clem in areas of the subconscious where she doesn’t belong. This is brilliant, yet utterly unpredictable storytelling at its best. However, once you peel away the quirky layers, the film is essentially a romantic comedy.
Charlie Kaufman wrote the screenplay; his other credits include “Being John Malkovich” and “Adaptation”, so it is no surprise that “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is both deep and different from typical boy-meets-girl films.
