Review: “Eternal Sunshine” will have you seeing spots
Trying to describe the plot of \”Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind\” would be like trying to relate a complex dream that you have already started to forget.
Like dreams, the story that develops in \”Sunshine\” is breathtaking if you see it for yourself, but confusing and mildly boring to have retold to you.
It\’s not actually important to know what\’s going on at every moment in the film, which is good, since you probably won\’t. It\’s surreal and non-linear, and at times downright confusing.
But \”Sunshine\” is brilliant because it never loses sight of what it\’s trying to say, even if the audience loses track of how it\’s saying it.
With remarkable clarity and persistence, the film argues that the present is made up of the past and the future. To try to forget the past is to destroy the present and the future. And to change the future is to change the present and the past.
Nowhere is this more beautifully expressed than in one of the final scenes of the film. In it, Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) are meeting again, after having had each other erased from their memories, and then relearning every detail (good and bad) about their relationship.
They\’re faced with a daunting knowledge of their future/past (see, I told you it was confusing). She will hate his complacent smile; he\’ll hate the way she mispronounces \”library\” as \”library\”.
And yet they decide to try anyway.
Winslet and Carey have an awkwardness between them that is utterly realistic, especially when it develops into tenderness. Winslet\’s performance stands out; she manages to be exciting and vulnerable at the same time.
Director Michel Gondry (known for his groundbreaking music videos) seems to have been born for writer Charlie Kaufman\’s style. The script demands rare creativity, and Gondry\’s visuals are bleeding with it.
But the film\’s substance surpasses its style, and you aren\’t left with that empty, cool-music-video feeling. This is the story of an idea, not the idea of a story.
And while you may lose your place in the story, you won\’t forget the idea: try anyway. There will be good and bad; you will find things you don\’t like, even things you hate.
Try anyway.
Because if you don\’t, you\’ll be left with a spotless mind, free of darkness. But it\’s those dark spots that give meaning to the sunshine.
Related links:
Eternal Sunshine
Director File – Michel Gondry & more
The script(warning: spoilers)
Other reviews