Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

A couple undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories when their relationship turns sour, but it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with.

Director:

Michel Gondry

Writers:

Charlie Kaufman (story), Michel Gondry (story),

Stars:

Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Gerry Robert Byrne

Top 250 #78 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 46 wins & 54 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Carrey	...	Joel Barish
Kate Winslet	...	Clementine Kruczynski
Gerry Robert Byrne	...	Train Conductor
Elijah Wood	...	Patrick
Thomas Jay Ryan	...	Frank
Mark Ruffalo	...	Stan
Jane Adams	...	Carrie
David Cross	...	Rob
Kirsten Dunst	...	Mary
Tom Wilkinson	...	Dr. Mierzwiak
Ryan Whitney	...	Young Joel
Debbon Ayer	...	Joel's Mother
Amir Ali Said	...	Young Bully
Brian Price	...	Young Bully
Paulie Litt	...	Young Bully (as Paul Litowski)

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

memory | love | crush | valentine's day | beach | 

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Taglines:

Replace My Memory

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some drug and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Focus Features Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 March 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eterno resplandor de una mente sin recuerdos

Filming Locations:

123 Valentine Lane, Yonkers, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$268,118 (Japan) (18 March 2005)

Gross:

$1,747,623 (Japan) (8 April 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features, Anonymous Content, This Is That Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

DTS (as dts) Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the tape recorded sessions with Kate Winslet, Carrey accidentally wrecked the tape recorder when he got so much into the scene, he threw it across the room.

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Goofs

During the "operation", Mary passes a joint to Stan. In the next shot, Mary has the joint again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Joel: [voice over] random thoughts for Valentine's day, 2004. Today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap.

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Crazy Credits

The credits are right justified, versus the usual center justified credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Wingmen Incorporated (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Mr. Blue Sky"
Written by Jeff Lynne
Performed by Electric Light Orchestra
Courtesy of Epic Records

User Reviews

Perfect - a movie that puts 99% of all contemporary movies to shame

There's only one way to describe "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind": perfect. It's been one week since I saw the movie and I still cannot stop thinking about it. Was the ending happy or sad? I cannot tell, but it's deeply touching.

Charlie Kaufman is incredible. How does he come up with all these original, flawless scripts? Finally there's someone who uses the possibilities of cinema to the fullest. I love the way Kaufman shows the fate of individuals and derives universally true rules from it. The content of his story is always highly philosophical without ever being smart alec.

Some say "Eternal Sunshine..." was over-directed. I disagree. Having read the script, I know that Gondry deserves lots of credit for bringing this beautiful story to life. Sure, there are five creepy images per minute, but have you ever seen such an original, weird picture? Mind you, I'm not saying that lots of effects automatically make for a good direction, but in this case it really helped to underline the story, not distracting from it.

Jim Carrey... wow! I've always liked him as the hilarious Comedian he is, but I never thought that his performances in "The Truman Show" and "Man On The Moon" were that much of a departure from his funny-man side. As Joel, however, he is a completely different person. It's like Jim Carrey had a serious twin brother. Unbelievable. I bow to this performance! Give this man more chances to show his acting abilities, I say!

Finally I have to mention Beck's cover of "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime", which fits perfectly into the movie and won't leave my CD-Player for the next months.

A movie like "Eternal Sunshine..." really shows how much time and money Hollywood wastes on producing crap like "Bad Boys" or "The Fast & The Furious", and its box office result demonstrates how little people care about quality in movies. Personally, I have found my first contender for best motion picture of the year. I need to see the movie again, because I have a feeling that this one gets even better with each viewing. I can't wait until it's released on DVD.

I feel the need to say more, but I can't put my feelings into (English) words. All I can say is: GO SEE THIS MOVIE! You won't regret it.