Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

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🎙️ EPISODE 420: 03.14.22 I am at such a state now, as it sits ever plainly before me, like a dumb baby or inbred show dog, that the only thing worse than the daily (many times daily) thinking I am about to die are the equally omnipresent moments of reflection, which aren't profound at all; they're more like guesses (wishes) about how I'm finally going to fix this (my life), or _____ (the alternative). And while I don't often drag you, dear reader, down into the muck of this solipsistic misery, it seemed fitting enough here given the "Whoa, out there" mojo of this movie. It's also to say that this very much feels like a film for the young. You're supposed to gobble this up at age twenty like a little kid at a magic show. Here at forty, its most magic moments still felt thrilling in all their chaotic wonderment. But, a few elements stuck in my craw.

Later in the week, I'll be reviewing Punch-Drunk Love and these films have a decent amount in common. They're both anchored by lovely Jon Brian soundtracks and both kick into gear hardcore about thirty minutes in. Obviously, they take very different turns as they traverse and subvert the romcom genre, chief among them the sensibilities of Kaufman vs. Anderson. Whereas the latter might seek to bury his metaphors, Charlie Kaufman tends to play with the very idea of metaphor in a very outward manner. The iconic "lying on cracked ice" is screaming LOOK AT ME, but its clearly self-aware of its volume. That's the point.

Doing this backwards (chronologically) watch/rewatch of all Kaufman's films has been interesting because I feel as though I am seeing him devolve as a writer. And — to be clear — this has far more to do with how highly I hold his best work than it is a knock on the rest. So much of this screenplay is devoted to dialogue between Jim Carey and Kate Winslet and, at times, it felt a tad stilted. Compared to his most recent film, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, another film stuffed to the gills with TALKING, this felt far less natural.

Another aspect which flummoxed me was the idea of the vaunted MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL. I feel like I want to tread lightly here, in part because I wouldn't put it past Kaufman — early 00s be damned! — that he was actually fucking with the convention of that trope. What do you think?

But ultimately I think the major issue here is, if there are any, is Carey. He is overacting and over-emoting throughout (his quietest moments are maybe his worst). He's simply trying too hard to be this sad sack character. I think of Sandler in Punch-Drunk and it's not like this. It's a weirdly similar character in many ways, if not even more over-the-top on the page, but you believe it better. And Kate Winslet at times doesn't seem to know how to play off this energy. In some ways, this be might the movie's only flaws. Because its structure and vibe and look are all amazing. When Gondry takes over and let's the visuals take over, it's a nice treat and reprise from the mind-screw plot. And its murderers row supporting cast has a lot to work with, even if the subplots seem, at points, a disservice to main story.

And the main story is such a genius conceit! How the flashbacks are framed and always still related to the procedure happening in the present: this is such an amazing device. It literally makes the idea of unreliable narrator, the unreliable movie. The film is about how memory is not just functionality and practically unreliable, but also metaphorically. As a script, its definitely one of Kaufman's very best. It doesn't quite hold up — overall — as a movie, and within a filmography that has a very, very high bar.

CHRONOLOGICALLY
⫷ EPISODE 419 - (YOU ARE HERE) - EPISODE 421 ⫸

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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (also simply known as Eternal Sunshine) is a 2004 American romantic science-fiction film written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry. It follows an estranged couple who have erased each other from their memories. Pierre Bismuth created the story with Kaufman and Gondry. The ensemble cast includes Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, and Tom Wilkinson. The title of the film is a quotation from the 1717 poem Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope. It was released on March 19, 2004.