Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Memory and Perception

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd;
Labour and rest, that equal periods keep;
"Obedient slumbers that can wake and weep;"
Desires compos'd, affections ever ev'n,
Tears that delight, and sighs that waft to Heav'n.

- Alexander Pope, Eloisa to Abelard

The Gordian knot twisting, endlessly binding our memory and perception of reality, when severed would result in dire and infinitely eerie consequences. In Michel Gondry's adaptation of Kaufman's script for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind this paradoxical situation is examined; what would occur if we could splice a scant slice of memory from our intricately designed minds? And if it were possible, would we even desire to delete our memories, whether pleasant or perverse? After all, it is that memory of humiliation in high school, or that celebratory connection with one's first love, that shape who we are, and what we become. These memories, negative and positive alike, determine our future; what we understand of our past influences our present choices. In this film, the extraordinary concept, which is only too close to what may be possible with the modern advances of science, the viewer is taken through a marvelous journey of mind and consciousness; entering that inexhaustible and mysterious realm of our psyche's capacity, through dream and memory, reality and fantasy, desire and choice. The title of the film, which is derived from Alexander Pope's Eloisa to Abelard, gives the reader a hint at where Kaufman most likely received his concept for the film. Comparing lines in the poem to scenes and moods in the film one is able to better understand the film and the philosophy behind it. One cannot view this film without considering the capabilities and consequences one would have if one were able to control one's future through removing one's past. Love, after all, "Of all affliction ['s] taught a lover yet,/ 'Tis sure the hardest science to forget!", and it is exactly this issue that Eternal Sunshine addresses (Pope).

The film explores this idea with the downtrodden, woebegone Joel played by Jim Carrey. When one thinks of Jim Carrey, one thinks of a man who wants to own a Worm shop, a lawyer who cannot lie, or a man who plays God; cheesy comedy and happy entertainment. Carrey, oddly enough, plays this role flawlessly - his character is immediately convincing when one sees his sunken gait, apathetic face, and bleak nature; his film presence proves his ability to play that typical art-house melodramatic character. This role which we caught a glimpse of in The Truman Show, is in Eternal Sunshine his peak dramatic performance to date. Although one would expect that type of character to be one-dimensional, Carrey takes his acting skills to a whole new level, giving Joel three-dimensions of stunning acting. This is by far Carrey's best film, and will etch the memory into each viewer, never giving one the opportunity to forget this spotlessly played character.

Joel is in love with a woman named Clementine, played by Kate Winslet, who at one point loved Joel as well. Evidently she had found Lacuna, Inc., the company which undertakes the procedure of erasing memory while the patient is sleeping, through what the doctor calls a type of 'brain damage'. Joel finds out she induced the abrogating procedure to, "forget, renounce [him], hate whate'er was [his]" and decides to undergo it as well "while prostrate [there] in humble grief [he] lie" (Pope). If she completely forgot who he was, it is only fair for him to do the same as well. He finds the company, which collects all objects regarding the memory of what is desired to be erased, and sends a note to all who were involved with said memory to be courteous and not speak with that person again. A team of stoners and obsessive's set up the machine in Joel's house, hook him up and begin the bizarre adventure through his mind's vividly recorded, yet forgotten history. It is then that the dream begins and reality shatters into a conglomeration of past memories and uncontrollable subconscious attempts at keeping them from being erased. It is within this dreamy erasure of mind that Joel's subconscious decides to keep his memories of Clementine, when he becomes aware of what is happening. Within the confines of his mind he is "led through a sad variety of woe/: Now warm in love, now with'ring in [her] bloom," he becomes "lost in a convent's solitary gloom!" (Pope). The procedure is proven to be impossible to reverse, and Joel along with his ideal Clementine travel through different realms of memory, building up to a climax of realization and acceptance. The film is reminiscent of a bad LSD trip taking twists and turns through memories and perceptual changes, walls expanding and disappearing, colors fragmenting, infinite streets that end where they begin, and people who are all too real, yet impossible to converse with as their faces shape-shift and distort - being erased while he looks at
them.

The cinematography is impeccable, along with the breathtaking special effects. Blending a series of memories into a labyrinth of nightmares, one is not distracted by the twisting plot and perception-distorting ; rather, one is in awe and thrown into the lucid dream world. The cinematographer, Ellen Kraus is able to capture the oddities of appearance that takes place in the dream world; the darkness and ultimately confusing nature of the alternate state. Along with the effective cinematography, Valdís Óskarsdótti's editing contributes greatly to the film. There is a continuity to the editing that makes the flow of the film even more dazzling and spectacular; one does not even question the transitions from dream-scene to dream-scene.

Upon first viewing, and even second, the twists and turns of the plot, moving back and forth in time, can be confusing; but if one views the film and accepts the non-reality of it, this dream-like state seems all to familiar. At one point Joel becomes cognizant of his state of mind, placed in that paralyzed position some of us have unfortunately encountered - awareness of sleep, with the inability to wake oneself up. He observes his captives drunk, high, and having a good time, while he is slipping back and forth between awareness and subconscious delirium. The team is attempting to find out what is wrong with the procedure, and why they cannot locate where he is in his memories - he is traveling outside the boundaries they had set for what memories should be erased. The exhilarating expedition through memories vast expanse carefully plays with the inevitability of choice and outcome. It is "then too, when fate shall [her] fair frame destroy/ (That cause of all [his] guilt, and all [his] joy)/ In trance ecstatic may [his] pangs be drown'd," with the lacunar procedure of deciding memories fate (Pope). While pulling his concept of Clementine through his memory he observes rooms shift and memories combine, ultimately leading to his acceptance that his destruction of memory will lost in sea of forgetfulness - losing all guilt and joy of his relationship.

The films conclusion answers the question posed in the beginning: would you erase your bad memories if you were able? Should you? Kaufman concludes NO, you should not. Both Joel and Clementine decide in the final dream sequence to accept their fate, but once Joel returns to reality he meets her again. They attempt to date, and one is falsely led to believe its possible their love will last. Shortly after they find out what each other did, and realize they are rehashing their past, which inevitably will lead to the same thing that happened before. Reality therefore is reality. It is not in one's best interest to remove the undesired parts of reality, as it is through living in this world and experiencing the same pains and joys as others that one is made fully human.

The moil of traversing through one's subconscious is often a dangerous and debilitating task; to wade about in emulsified waters with no direction but the confusion and knowledge that one is in one's own mind can be nothing but a terrifying yet awe-inspiring experience. In the case of Joel's journey he learned various natures of himself, and ultimate truths in life; acceptance and remembrance are things to be embraced, rather than destroyed. Even with the sorrowful memories of a lost love, one must not forget the joy. As Alexander Pope best describes:

In these deep solitudes and awful cells,
Where heav'nly-pensive contemplation dwells,
And ever-musing melancholy reigns;
What means this tumult in a vestal's veins?
Why rove my thoughts beyond this last retreat?
Why feels my heart its long-forgotten heat?
Yet, yet I love! - From Abelard it came,
And Eloisa yet must kiss the name.