Maria Marauder: Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind

MNG Dress
Celine Wedges

If a relationship went sour, wouldn’t anyone want to totally erase it from one’s memory? The hurting words that were exchanged, the upset and the embarrassment that went along with being dumped—these are the moments that one prays to forget easily. And as they say, time is the best healer. Yes, maybe the flashes of memories can still be recalled, but at least the pain will almost always be a thing of the past.

As for me, old relationships will always be treasured because they have given me a reason to learn, to forgive, and to move on to better things.

Movie Review: The Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (2004)

The Story:

A man, Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend Clementine 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 realizes that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.

My Review:

What a sweet, sweet love story. It reminds me how memories of love should never be taken for granted. The movie is not your typical romantic narrative where a boy-meets-girl, they fall in love, have problems, overcome them, live happily ever after. What I got instead was challenging pieces of puzzles strewn around in no order, which I had to collect in my mind, to form a love story. In the end, it’s a boy-meets-girl again. Confused? Watch it!!!

Trivia:

The title is quoted from the poem "Eloisa to Abelard" by Alexander Pope (1688-1744). This poem was used in Charlie Kaufman's earlier project Being John Malkovich (1999). The movie is based on the following quote from an Alexander Pope poem, "How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd."

Before Jim Carrey expressed interest in playing Joel, Nicolas Cage was considered for the role.

The scene where Joel and Clementine watch the circus go through the streets was made up on the spot, as the film crew and cast happened to be working nearby and Michel Gondry decided it could work well in the film. The part where Clementine disappears suddenly is one of Gondry's favorite moments of the film, as Jim Carrey didn't know Kate Winslet was going to disappear and Gondry likes it because Carrey's face appears so saddened. When the sound blanks out in the final film, Carrey is actually saying "Kate?"

Despite the fact that Charlie Kaufman's script and Michel Gondry's visual concepts were closely followed, the actors were allowed many chances to improvise. Elijah Wood and Mark Ruffalo improvised extensively, and much of the dialog between Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet resulted from videotaped rehearsal sessions during which the two actors became close by sharing tales of their real life relationships and heartbreaks.

Is erasing memories possible in the future? Scary!