'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' respects that love is beautiful and horrible

Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey examine the depths of heartbreak in 2004’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” (Focus Features/MovieStillsDB.com)

Ultimate Movie Year finds the best released films from weekends past to build an all-star lineup of cinema.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"
Released March 19, 2004
Directed by Michel Gondry
Where to Watch

I've seen hundreds, if not thousands, of movies that depict romantic relationships as cute, funny, occasionally bonkers, but whatever obstacles are encountered, almost always end with the couple living happily ever after. There are also several movies - not as many, but enough to be notable - that depict toxic relationships, and the goal and victory is for the protagonist to get out.

There are few movies I can think of that can accomplish both at the same time, and assuredly none that do it as well as 2004's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." The film, directed by Michel Gondry and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet as the central couple, is a surreal, mind-bending experience depicting the ecstasy and desolation of love.

It's at times, heart wrenching, hilarious, beautiful, whimsical, and depressing. You are equally rooting for the couple to get together, and also start over again because of the emotional and broken wounds we see in both of them. It is the ultimate movie that depicts the optimism and insanity of devoting your life to another person, and all that it entails.

"Eternal Sunshine" reveals that Joel (Carrey) and Clementine (Winslet) had a terrible breakup after a long relationship. When Joel tries to repair the damage one day, Clem acts like she had never met him before. And from her perspective, it's true: Clem recently underwent a procedure that erased every memory she had of Joel, and now Joel wants to do the same to delete her through the work of the Lacuna company. That night, Joel takes a medication to fall asleep during the process, and the Lacuna reps begin their work. Suddenly, the audience experiences the sensation through Joel's subconscious, which is aware that there are other people in the room he's sleeping in, but now he's an outside observer. From here, "Eternal Sunshine" splits into two separate narratives: One involving the Lacuna employees (played by Mark Ruffalo, Ethan Wood, Kirsten Dunst, and Tom Wilkinson), and the other within Joel's subconscious as he relives the memories he has of Clem that are being erased. But now that he's under, Joel's having second thoughts and rebels against the erasures to preserve Clem.

Anyone who has the experience of a longtime relationship knows that it can be a mix of gratification and challenges. Hopefully, for us all, it leans toward the former if it's not an equal mix. The deeper we get into each other emotionally will increase the levels we experience together, sometimes over our own capacity for logic and reason. A beautiful memory from years ago can linger in our minds and hearts like it was yesterday. Likewise, a painful moment can impact our actions and decisions in the future. "Eternal Sunshine" is a movie that understands this experience intimately, with Charlie Kaufman, Pierre Bismuth, and Gondry crafting a script with a non-linear timeline and near-constant perspective shifts that could easily confuse viewers. But because the core of the story is grounded in emotional truth, the audience can keep up with the film's malleable concept of time and perception.

By the time of "Eternal Sunshine's" release, Kaufman had become a master of complicated, surreal narrative structures. He first gained acclaim with 1999's "Being John Malkovich," directed by Spike Jonez, which has ordinary office workers discovering a portal into the mind of the actual actor John Malkovich. He reteamed with director Spike Jonez for 2002's "Adaptation," and not only did Kaufman write himself in as the lead role of the movie (in a role played by Nicolas Cage), he also created a fictional screenwriting brother (also played by Cage). These are genuinely surreal ideas that are likely to be rejected by mainstream audiences, and yet, Kaufman makes all these stories work because he surrounds the fantastic with the mundane. That characteristic continues with "Eternal Sunshine," as the characters here just accept the idea of a memory-erasing procedure to be a regular, routine job to them, like a dental hygienist or insurance agent.

Meanwhile, Gondry came up as an experimental filmmaker, working previously with Kaufman on 2001's "Human Nature" and directing music videos with Bjork and the White Stripes. Gondry has a distinctive vision for a movie that needs one, as the subconscious perspective of Joel is changed before our eyes at times directly, and other times subtlety. A simple touch like erasing all the titles on the spines in a book store adds so much to engaging us into the world of "Eternal Sunshine."

When it was released in late March of 2004, "Eternal Sunshine" debuted in seventh for the weekend, roundly defeated by the other major new title, the "Dawn of the Dead" remake by Zack Snyder. And yet, it maintained its audience for a long 19 week run at the theater, eventually finishing with a $34.4 million gross off of a $20 million budget. Winslet and the screenwriters were nominated for Academy Awards (with a win for Original Screenplay), and as the years passed, "Eternal Sunshine" became one of the most acclaimed films of 2004, and the 2000s overall.

It's not hard to see why. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" earns its accolades by its original vision, cerebral storytelling, and excellent work of the ensemble cast in offbeat performances. It has a perfect ending that walks a fine line of offering the optimism of every new day being another chance to start over, but also gives us the honesty to admit we are capable of making the same mistakes again. It's a movie about something that is also sublimely entertaining, a work of art that never feels like it.

"Eternal Sunshine" is a thing of beauty … and pain.

The Weekend: Historically, mid-March has seen the release of several hit movies, but none of them so successful and beloved that they became an obvious pick for the Ultimate Movie Year. It's one of the reasons why "Eternal Sunshine" became so appealing as a choice, because there really isn't anything that could have contended with its quality and legacy.

Flashing way back to the days of early Hollywood, 1937 saw the premiere of "The Great Ziegfeld," the Best Picture winner that depicts the life and times of Broadway producer Flo Ziegfeld Jr. with William Powell in the lead role. It's not one of those movies that's aged all that well, and frankly, there's a far superior movie coming next week with a Ziegfeld reference, so I'm totally cool giving this a pass.

A few years later, actor Lawrence Olivier starred in two classic pictures released on the same weekend in back-to-back years. First came the 1939 adaptation of the Emily Bronte novel, "Wuthering Heights," which earned a Best Picture nomination among other Academy Award accolades, followed by 1940's "Rebecca," the romance thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Both films are excellent and worth your while.

Moving into the modern era, Francis Ford Coppola followed his run of incredible movies from the 1970s with 1983's "The Outsiders." Based on the young adult novel by S.E. Hinton and starring an ensemble cast of the future stars of Hollywood (including Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, and Diane Lane), "The Outsiders" doesn't reach the height of those previous Coppola movies, but it's still pre-tay, pre-tay, pretty good. Another new young Hollywood star was minted in 1990 when Julia Roberts dazzled Richard Gere in Gary Marshall's "Pretty Woman," an update of the Cinderella tale now featuring, uh, prostitution.

Michael Douglas was already a star when he signed onto Paul Verhoeven's "Basic Instinct," but Sharon Stone sure wasn't, and she stole the movie on her way to stardom with an iconic, lurid scene. "Basic Instinct" debuted this weekend in 1992. Two other lurid movies that were decisively less mature were 1982's "Porky's" and 1984's "Police Academy," both of which spawned many sequels somebody must have seen because they kept making them for a while there, huh?

Let's note some other movies: "Eternal Sunshine" star Carrey was at the peak of his box office powers when he starred in 1997's "Liar Liar." Wesley Snipes returned to one of his best roles in the Guillermo del Toro-directed "Blade II," premiering here in 2001. We already mentioned Zack Snyder's "Dawn of the Dead" remake from 2004. The Swedish adaptation of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" debuted in the states in 2010. The sci-fi thriller "Life" is a bit of an "Alien" retread, but it has a stacked cast and is pretty entertaining in its own right. Finally, Jordan Peele followed up "Get Out" with 2019's "Us," and if we didn't already get the former movie into the Ultimate Movie Year, it would have been a strong contender for this week.

Next Week: "Singin' in the Rain"

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