Alan Thinks 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' is Indeed Spotless

Starring

• Jim Carrey
• Kate Winslet
• Kirsten Dunst
• Tom Wilkinson
• Elijah Wood
• Mark Ruffalo

Original Theatrical Release Date: 03/19/2004

Running Time: 108 mins

Synopsis: Jim Carrey stars as Joel Barish, a man who is informed that his ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has had her memories of their relationship erased from her brain via an experimental procedure performed by Dr. Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson). Not to be outdone, Joel decides to have the same procedure done to himself. As Mierzwiak's bumbling underlings Stan (Mark Ruffalo) and Patrick (Elijah Wood) perform the operation on Joel -- over the course of an evening, in his apartment -- Joel struggles in his own mind to save the memories of Clementine from being deleted. --From Rotten Tomatoes

Review: 

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;

When I was a kid, I thought Jim Carrey was the funniest actor ever. Once I grew up, both him and Adam Sandler started to seem gimmicky to me. Jim Carrey has to make faces for a laugh and Adam Sandler has to yell a lot. That's pretty much the gist of it. Because of this newfound adult wisdom, I came to the conclusion that Carrey wasn't really a great actor at all. That was until I saw 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'. 

Imagine yourself in a relationship. It has its ups and downs, but as of late mostly downs. You have a big fight with your significant other and you both say horrible things to each other. You have that feeling of regret as soon as the words leave your mouth, but it is too late. Then, you try and patch it up, only to find out that your significant other has erased all memories of you from their mind, and looks at you as if seeing you for the first time. 

That is the beginning of the plot to the film. Kate Winslet plays as Clementine, who has memories of Joel, played by Jim Carrey, erased from her mind. Joel is so hurt by this, that he decides to do the same. The movie mostly takes place in his mind as the procedure is being done. And as his past is being erased, he realizes that these are memories he does not want to forget. He desperately tries to hold on to the memories that have yet to be destroyed of Clementine.  

It sounds like an odd plot. And honestly, it's not for everyone. Some may consider it too abstract or weird.. But that is truly a shame for them. 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' is a very emotional movie about trying to save what may be too late to save. Being powerless to stop it. It's about realizing that the little moments in your life that make you happy have much more impact on you than you may take the time to realize. It's about fate being bigger than science.

This is not Carrey's most "fun" movie. But it is easily his best one. It is such a deep film, with such emotional performances from the cast, that you FEEL the anguish and joy of the characters. It is so relatable because everyone has had those experiences that felt like they would be almost unbearable to live with. And it shows that if you could eliminate that sadness, you would also have to eliminate anything that reminded you of it. Sometimes, it's easier to live with the pain of something than to risk losing all the good associated with it too. It's a journey of self discovery, and a reminder to appreciate the little things. 

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