Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Academy Award × 1·National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.
What critics thought
One of the most acclaimed films of the 2000s, Eternal Sunshine earns its reputation through the rare combination of Kaufman's structurally daring screenplay and Gondry's inventive in-camera visuals — critics consistently admired how the film's formal complexity never crowded out genuine emotional weight. Carrey and Winslet drew near-universal praise, though a small minority felt the postmodern machinery overwhelmed any real human feeling underneath.
“Despite jumping through the deliberately disorienting hoops of its story, Eternal Sunshine has an emotional center, and that's what makes it work. Although Joel and Clementine ping-pong through various stages of romance and reality, what remains constant is the human need for love and companionship, and the human compulsion to keep seeking it, despite all odds.”
Roger Ebert·RogerEbert.com
“Even when forced to wear costumes and wigs that make her look like Pippi Longstocking after an acid-fueled trip to the thrift market, Winslet maintains a reassuring equilibrium. It takes an actor of her steadiness to play someone this unhinged.”
Ann Hornaday·The Washington Post
“the formidable Gondry/Kaufman/Carrey/Winslet axis works marvel after marvel in expressing the bewildering beauty and existential horror of being trapped inside one's own addled mind, and in allegorising the self-preserving amnesia of a broken but hopeful heart”
Time Out
Genres
Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Cast & Crew
DirectorMichel Gondry
StarringJim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood
ComposerJon Brion
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Academy Award × 1·National Film Registry
Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.
What critics thought
One of the most acclaimed films of the 2000s, Eternal Sunshine earns its reputation through the rare combination of Kaufman's structurally daring screenplay and Gondry's inventive in-camera visuals — critics consistently admired how the film's formal complexity never crowded out genuine emotional weight. Carrey and Winslet drew near-universal praise, though a small minority felt the postmodern machinery overwhelmed any real human feeling underneath.
“Despite jumping through the deliberately disorienting hoops of its story, Eternal Sunshine has an emotional center, and that's what makes it work. Although Joel and Clementine ping-pong through various stages of romance and reality, what remains constant is the human need for love and companionship, and the human compulsion to keep seeking it, despite all odds.”
Roger Ebert·RogerEbert.com
“Even when forced to wear costumes and wigs that make her look like Pippi Longstocking after an acid-fueled trip to the thrift market, Winslet maintains a reassuring equilibrium. It takes an actor of her steadiness to play someone this unhinged.”
Ann Hornaday·The Washington Post
“the formidable Gondry/Kaufman/Carrey/Winslet axis works marvel after marvel in expressing the bewildering beauty and existential horror of being trapped inside one's own addled mind, and in allegorising the self-preserving amnesia of a broken but hopeful heart”
Time Out
Genres
Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Cast & Crew
DirectorMichel Gondry
StarringJim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood
ComposerJon Brion
Rent/Purchase