Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

          There are multiple reasons why Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is currently my favorite movie, but the main one is because of my emotional connection with Joel Barish. In the beginning of the film, Joel is depressed and fails to admire the beauty of the world by saying, “Sand is overrated. Its just tiny little rocks.” When he says this, Joel adds to his depression by taking uncontrollable circumstances and observations and turns them into complaints. Despite his sadness, he is a nervous and tentative child at heart, longing to be comforted.

          Not only is this my favorite movie, but it is the best film of Jim Carrey’s career. In a large majority of his movies, he plays a goofy, hysterical role. A few of his dramatic performances include The Truman Show, The Number 23, and I Love You Phillip Morris.   

          Other than the emotional connection, the cinematography, special effects, and post processing are absolutely phenomenal. Throughout the film, the color correction changes the mood. The beach scenes have a light blue tint to invoke the feeling of sadness while memories of his childhood are tinted yellow for happiness. This is subtile, but important for the overall mood of the film. In spite of these corrections, Clementine’s character boldly stands out. Her hair and clothing choices reflect her bold personality and show the dominance of her character.

          I love re-watching this movie because I catch new things every time I see it which makes the experiences more real. 

          Throughout the memory sequences, a spotlight effect is given in order to give a retro feeling of memories. This makes it easier to keep track of the non-linear timeline.  Also, many of the memory sequences are blurred and jumbled in order to seem like realistic memories. In one scene specifically, Clementine’s words don’t match up with her lips.  I feel like many memories can feel this way especially after a long period of time, a lot like dreams.

          Because the memories go in reverse order, the happiest parts are in the end. This not only makes for a climatic film, but for a “happy ending” as well. 

          I would compare the relationship between Joel and Clementine to Tom and Summer in (500) Days of Summer. These sets of characters are written to have highly realistic relationships and draw emotions out of the viewers. It is for this reason that these movies have done incredibly well.

          I probably think about Eternal Sunshine once a week. Usually its about the topic of erasing people or events from your memory. But if I have learned anything from this movie, it is to be happy in the moment.