Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Don’t forget to love.
Presentation:
A couple ends up wiping their memories of each other after relationship struggles. If this quirky premise doesn’t intrigue you, let me delve deeper. Although the image quality isn’t necessarily the cleanest with bleeding highlights and grainy exposure, the cinematography rivals some of the most experimental films today with high concept editing and camera techniques. In order to convey the fuzziness of memory, the DP utilizes out-of-focus blurry shots and disjointed cuts. The handheld camera movement accentuates the subjective perspective and then you have surreal dream sequences accomplished by heavy vignettes and camera mounted spotlights. Then you have inspired body swapping and specific idiosyncrasies appealing to male adolescence. The film ultimately hinges on Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey’s performances, which are for the most part relatable though lacking gravitas because of the light hearted nature. The music is goofy and cliche, though at some points fitting for certain sequences.
Analysis:
The end of the film repeating the same snow sequence 3 times suggests the cyclical nature of their memory wipe, and is a metaphor that hits the nail squarely on the nature of flawed relationships. It suggests that despite the flaws we have and our incompatibilities, we end up making the same inevitable mistakes and cycles of love, fighting, regret and making up. It’s quite masterful albeit subtle and I appreciate that both leads are clearly right and wrong in reasonable and understandable ways. Although Jim Carrey is known for his comedic genius, he does a pretty good job playing his true depressed self, though the chemistry doesn’t always click from the get go. They are not really a good match, maybe not even believable. This is where the film suffers the most lacking gravitas at crucial moments like the final make up, I actually found Kirsten Dunst’s arc to be more compelling. The disconnect is a result of the director in Carrey’s ear telling him it’s a tragedy and Winslet that it’s a comedy, leading to a dysfunctional and effectively jarring mismatch. But the bond between the two suffers, and it becomes harder to want to ship the two together through thick and thin despite the profound narrative.
Conclusion:
Despite looking like not much on the surface, this film has some of the greatest visual sequences that are bound to leave an impression. It’s highly ambitious and a novel concept, which would normally devolve into a forgettable sci-fi film on cable TV except for the immaculate execution in the editing. Memory has been represented flawlessly through the detailed explanation of the mechanics, but after an hour of the same, it ends up feeling like 5 too many pillows on a sofa. The concept of memory wiping ends up being too high of a focus and feels more like science fiction than romance. If there was ever a film to stress the importance of memory, it would be this one. Although I’ve watched this film in pieces over the years, it’s actually a tremendous film that you can repeatedly watch because of the nonlinear storytelling. Probably one of the best nonlinear stories, best cinematography, but maybe some of that focus should have been invested in the chemistry.
Recommendations
Level 0 of the liminal basement.