They say the one cure for a broken heart is time, although a lobotomy could also be more practical. It’s a touchy concept that Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) tested for our enjoyment in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by erasing the memories of her ex-boyfriend, Joel Barish (Jim Carrey). Michel Gondry’s surreal love story amazed audiences in 2004 and is hard to forget 20 years later.
Like all painful breakups, “The Eternal Light of the Spotless Mind” lingers within the consciousness long after the expiration date of the love story. Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman – who recently had critical viewing of “Being John Malkovich” and “Adaptation” – wrote Clementine and Joel’s romance as a claustrophobic, unfolding maze that earned the film an Oscar for best screenplay. Kirsten Dunst and Mark Ruffalo knocked on the door to stardom with sensible supporting performances as random assistants for memory erasure company Lacuna Inc. The film was one of the few romantic comedies of its decade (including “Lost in Translation” and “(500) Days of Summer”), which redefined what it meant to be each misunderstood and in love; on this cinematic landscape, love interests didn’t end happily ever after. Instead, they gave the concept perhaps lost love doesn’t necessarily mean a net loss.
As Clementine, an unpredictable and compulsive bookstore clerk, Winslet delivers a career-defining performance. Today, its specific character is still alive ICT Tok AND Tumblr because the patroness of women who’re paradoxically loved and terrifying. (“I apply my personality like paste,” she says of her hair dye, aptly titled Blue Ruin.) Her legacy matches into the pantheon of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope, a fast-talking madwoman who protests, “Too much guys see me as a concept. Most of all, she loves her own despair – if the film were released today, it would be easy to imagine her posting about Prozac, stomach aches, and Ottessa Moshfegh novels.
And as Joel, Carrey remains an avatar of frustratingly simple and deeply wounded men. After Joel discovers that Clementine attacked him and their relationship thanks to Lacuna Inc., he decides to do the same. (At the same time, I blocked someone on Instagram to regain some sense of control, but found the mental torture continued.) Together, they wade through Joel’s tangled and chimerical subconscious in daily montages of early bliss and innocent flirtations.
Along the way, Joel realizes that he would rather have all of Clementine, including a broken heart, than none of her. He desperately tries to save the deleted memories, trapping himself in the maze of his own psyche. The film spins out of control, traversing realities and timelines until we are finally left with Clementine and Joel tearfully admitting the futility of their relationship. “I’ll be bored with you and feel trapped because that’s what’s happening to me,” Clementine assures. “Okay,” Joel says with a smile, then agrees to try again, despite knowing the inevitable disaster of their attraction.
“Every memory we have has an emotional core, and when you eliminate that, it begins to degrade,” Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) explains to Joel as he ponders the procedure. It’s an intoxicating premise that Joel is understandably seduced by. Today, the sharing and optimization of pain seems ubiquitous, a compulsion enabled and exacerbated by technology. (Think of the pain you’re feeling when iPhone’s Memories feature unceremoniously confronts you with a photo of someone you’re keen on who’s now a stranger.) Our need for connection has never been greater, and yet our lives are scattered across screens. And every little thing, in turn, became emotionally risk-free.
Brain damage as an antidote to love is an ambitious film premise, however the film’s incredible truths prove timeless. We live in lonely times, and Joel serves as Everyman for our current lovesickness. In a dating culture focused on “looksmaxxing” on apps like Hinge and Tinder, finding love can often look like an empty science fiction plot not removed from Lacuna Inc. Online therapists and smiling pop stars on Instagram and YouTube teach us to be careful for gaslighting, love bombing, and other warning signs in potential partners. It is simpler to pathologize ourselves and our history in isolation than to allow ourselves to be noticed.
Joel and Clementine’s relationship is refreshing to watch – each character is peppered with scarlet flags and emotional baggage. Sure, Clementine is unpredictable and a burden, a problem for which there isn’t any solution. But it is also these qualities that make her mesmerizing and irresistible to Joel.
“I don’t see anything I don’t like about you,” Joel says pleadingly to Clementine to get her to stay. “But you will do it,” he bellows knowingly. It’s in that final scene – when Joel meets Clementine and so they accept one another as their strangest and most frustrating selves – that makes their love so compelling that it’s value watching over and once again.
