Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
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A man and his ex-girlfriend undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories, only to find themselves struggling to let go as the memories are being deleted.
The story
Joel Barish discovers that his estranged girlfriend, Clementine Kruczynski, has undergone a procedure to have her memories of him erased by the suburban Long Island firm Lacuna. Heartbroken, he decides to undergo the same procedure. In preparation, he records a tape recounting his memories of their volatile relationship. As the procedure begins, Joel experiences his memories of Clementine in reverse chronological order as they are being erased. As he reaches earlier, happier memories, he realizes that he does not want to forget her. The film explores the nature of memory and love through a non-linear narrative as Joel navigates the fading remnants of his past relationship.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Joel Barish discovers his ex-girlfriend Clementine has had her memories of him erased by a firm called Lacuna. He decides to undergo the same procedure but records a tape of his memories first. While the procedure is performed on him, he experiences his memories of Clementine in reverse chronological order. As the memories are erased, he realizes he doesn't want to forget her and tries to hide her in other memories. Meanwhile, a technician named Patrick uses Clementine's memories to try and win her back. The procedure is eventually restarted by a supervisor. In the office, a secretary named Mary is caught in a romantic entanglement with the firm's owner, Howard, whose wife discovers their affair. Mary eventually steals the company's records and mails them to the patients. Joel wakes up on Valentine's Day with no memory of Clementine but finds her on a train ride, and they eventually decide to try their relationship again after listening to their shared tapes of memories.
- First release year
- 2004
- Runtime (minutes)
- 108
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Michel Gondry
- Writers
- Charlie Kaufman · screenplay; Charlie Kaufman · story; Michel Gondry · story; Pierre Bismuth · story
- Cast and characters
- Jim Carrey · Joel Barish; Kate Winslet · Clementine Kruczynski; Kirsten Dunst · Mary Svevo; Mark Ruffalo · Stan Fink; Elijah Wood · Patrick Wertz; Tom Wilkinson · Dr. Howard Mierzwiak
- Genres
- science fiction; romantic comedy-drama; psychological drama
- Themes
- memory; love; nostalgia
- Tone and mood
- melancholy; whimsical
- Premise and plot tags
- memory erasure; non-linear narrative; romance
- Source material / true-story basis
- A quotation from the 1717 poem Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope.
- Reception
- The film received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised the script and direction, and was considered a box office success.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 89 · scale: out of 100 · review count: 41
- Awards and nominations
- Best Original Screenplay · Academy Awards · win; Best Actress · Academy Awards · nomination
- Production trivia
- The title is a quotation from a 1717 poem.; The film was named one of the Top 10 Films of 2004 by the American Film Institute.; The film inspired several music projects including works by Jay Electronica, Jhené Aiko, and Ariana Grande.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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