Clear Your Mind: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Movie Review

Notting Hill and Pretty Woman fans beware, this may not be your cup of tea. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is not your average chick-flick. There's no Julia Roberts, a fairytale ending, predictable clichés, or an irresistibly sexy leading man. Instead you have a blue-haired Kate Winslet and the goofy Jim Carrey starring in a quirky, modern story with an imaginative twist. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is the best romantic comedy if you are looking for a realistic look at relationships, excellent on-screen chemistry, and an unusual obstacle to love.

Anyone who has been in a relationship knows that they are not all sugar-coated. The story focuses on the relationship between Joel, Jim Carrey, and his girlfriend Clementine, Kate Winslet. The movie starts out with when Joel and Clementine first meet and quickly fast forwards to when Clementine does not even remember Joel because she has had him erased from her memory. Clementine talks about her relationship with Joel saying, "I'm not happy, but what do I expect? Relationships require work. I think maybe I'm just a victim of the movies, y'know? That I have some completely unrealistic notion of what a relationship can be" (Kaufman). Clementine goes on to erase her problems with Joel while Joel does the same, but throughout the movie we get to see him dealing with his memories. Joel goes to get his memory erased, and in the process he revisits his many memories with Clementine: the good, the bad, and the ugly. The movie is a realistic romantic comedy because yes, it is romantic but it is not solely romantic. It is raw and true. We see Clementine's rollercoaster up's and down's and Joel's struggle with love. When Joel and Clementine first meet they have the following exchange:

Joel: I don't see anything I don't like about you.

Clementine: But you will! But you will, and I'll get bored with you and feel trapped, because that's what happens with me.

Joel: Okay (Kaufman)

This is something that makes the movie extremely realistic and unusual. It is very refreshing to see characters be brutally honest with each other and about themselves. The whole movie basically kiboshes the idea of the whirlwind, extended honeymoon of a romance by giving you a look at an actual relationship.

Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet also make this quirky comedy work because they are phenomenal actors but they also mesh surprisingly well together. Kate Winslet does a great job of transitioning herself into an unconventional, one-of-a-kind character. Jim Carrey is famous for his recurring roles in comedies and Kate Winslet perfectly complements him on-screen. They are completely at ease with one another and really bring Clementine and Joel to life. Winslet commented on her chemistry with Carrey saying, "He's a great guy. We have such a good relationship and you can't act chemistry. You can't make that happen... I love being able to accept another actor's process, however different it might be to my own. But Jim and I, we actually had quite a similar process" (Murray, 2). Jim Carrey clearly has a deep respect for Winslet's professional work gushing, "She's wonderful to watch - unbelievable - because you sometimes don't know what she's doing when you're in a scene with her. You look at it later and she knows what's going to come off, how it's going to look. It's beautiful" (Murray, 1)

The thing that makes this movie the best romantic comedy is that is fresh and unique. According to The Art of the Romantic Comedy, "True soul mates can find each other in spite of any obstacles to their being together," in a romantic comedy (Johnson). There is a very large obstacle in Joel and Clementine's relationship. Clementine has Joel erased from her memory. Joel can't live with that so he too goes to have his memory erased which is the basis of the entire movie. Does Joel really hate Clementine enough, to completely erase her from his mind? Joel takes a trip down memory lane and revisits his memories with Clementine as they are erased, only to find that "You can erase someone from your mind. Getting them out of your heart is another story" (Eternal). The climax of the movie is Joel's struggle to keep the memories of Clementine before they are erased, by hiding them in places he would never have even thought.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is perfect for you if you are sick and tired of the same-old, predictable chick-flick. Great chemistry between the characters, a complex, multidimensional story, and one of Hollywood's successful stabs at portraying reality make this movie worth your time. The only thing is, you shouldn't watch this if you have had a recent breakup. The movie might just leave you wondering, "Would you erase me" (Eternal)?

Works Cited

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Internet Movie Database. 30 March 2007

< http://imdb.com/title/tt0338013/>

Johnson, Bill. "The Art of the Romantic Comedy." A Story is a Promise. 29 March 2007 < http://www.storyispromise.com/wromance.htm>

Kaufman, Charlie. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Internet Movie Script Database. 30 March 2007 < http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Eternal-Sunshine-of-the-Spotless-Mind.html>

Murray, Rebecca. "Jim Carrey on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Memories, & Michel Gondry". About: Hollywood Movies. 2 April 2007 < http://movies.about.com/cs/eternalsunshine/a/etsmjc030904.htm>

Murray, Rebecca. "No Corsets for Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." About: Hollywood Movies. 30 March 2007 < http://movies.about.com/cs/eternalsunshine/a/etsmkw030904.htm>