The characters are just as complex as the plot, and I really loved both of them, even if I didn’t always like them.Įternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of those films that affected me deeply on an emotional level, but it’s also one that kept me thinking. There were at least a few moments where I really didn’t approve of what they were doing to each other. There are some laugh-out-loud funny parts, but there are also some moments that hit the deepest parts of your soul, and it all feels totally natural-there’s no blatant manipulation or cheap tricks here to make you feel for these characters. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are at their best in this film, balancing quirky and funny with dark and broken. There were a lot of little moments that made Joel and Clementine and their relationship more real than most you see in film. You see the best and the worst of their relationship. The screenwriter really understood what real flaws look like, so Joel’s issues run deeper than working too hard and Clem’s run deeper than simply disregarding society’s rules. I myself have bipolar disorder, a major mental illness, and I saw some of the flawed parts of myself reflected back at me in both Joel and Clementine. Having Joel relive these moments as the procedure starts really brought their relationship to life in a way I rarely see in film. Joel and Clementine were two flawed characters and had some serious problems in their relationship but there were also some amazing moments that made both of them better. Don’t assign me yours.ĭespite being somewhat fantastic in nature, there’s a lot about this film that feels very grounded in reality. But I’m just a fucked-up girl who’s lookin’ for my own peace of mind. Too many guys think I’m a concept, or I complete them, or I’m gonna make them alive. But as the procedure begins and he relives the key moments from their relationship, he begins to question whether he’d actually be better off not knowing her. Joel, enraged, opts to have the same procedure done. She’s had her memory of their relationship erased. After a while, Joel bumps into Clementine and finds she has no memory of him. We see their failing relationship finally die. Then we flash back and find out that the two have a history-which, apparently, neither of them remember.
While on a train, he meets Clementine, and there’s immediately some chemistry between them. The film opens with Joel waking up and going through a somewhat mysterious set of actions (that all make sense in the end). The plot is somewhat complex in that a lot of it takes place out of sequence. At times funny, at times sad, this is a great film about the ups and downs of love that doesn’t try to water down what makes relationships difficult, but still captures what makes them meaningful. It maintains a lot of that quirkiness from the other movies, but this one is layered with some heavy bittersweet moments as well. Directed by Michel Gondry ( The Science of Sleep, Be Kind Rewind) and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, this film offers a fresh look at what a romantic relationship really means and what it takes to make one work for imperfect people. We rarely see that while manic-pixie dream girls can be amazing, they can also be high maintenance, and it takes serious work to keep up the amazing aspects of the relationship-work that not every guy is willing to put in.Įternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind fills that gap by showing us a manic-pixie dream girl relationship after it has failed. We always see the beginnings of the relationship and the transformation.
Think Penny Lane in Almost Famous, or Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, or Zooey Deschanel’s character in any movie she’s in.
You know the ones, where there’s a guy who takes life too seriously and he meets this girl who’s wild and free and teaches him to have a new appreciation for life. The manic-pixie dream girl is a common trope that pops up in a lot of movies. “What a loss to spend that much time with someone, only to find out that she’s a stranger.”