Was expecting to like this more
I was expecting to like this film .. it's really up my alley .. a little out there scifi-ish romance/drama with an indie vibe. But, I was simply bored by the film. It was still worth watching due to some of the stars in it (in particular Kate Winslet whom I adore), but the movie itself didn't work out for me. It may be because Jim Carrey is one of the few people out there that I truly utterly dislike (I think he has no talent as an actor, isn't remotely funny and in his private life a despicable person .. because if you are clearly lacking both the intellectual capacity and education to understand a topic (in this case vaccines), as someone famous, you shouldn't talk about it publicly as there are plenty of equally challenged people who will take your words as truth even if it's complete bullshit .. but I seem to be digressing).
So, I like the idea of the film, but the way the story was told just didn't capture my interest .. which I feel must be a fault of the film itself as the idea ...(more)
I was expecting to like this film .. it's really up my alley .. a little out there scifi-ish romance/drama with an indie vibe. But, I was simply bored by the film. It was still worth watching due to some of the stars in it (in particular Kate Winslet whom I adore), but the movie itself didn't work out for me. It may be because Jim Carrey is one of the few people out there that I truly utterly dislike (I think he has no talent as an actor, isn't remotely funny and in his private life a despicable person .. because if you are clearly lacking both the intellectual capacity and education to understand a topic (in this case vaccines), as someone famous, you shouldn't talk about it publicly as there are plenty of equally challenged people who will take your words as truth even if it's complete bullshit .. but I seem to be digressing).
So, I like the idea of the film, but the way the story was told just didn't capture my interest .. which I feel must be a fault of the film itself as the idea is so good. It's just lacking drive or pacing or I'm not sure what ... (less)
We need memories
I found Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to be extremely intriguing. The entire concept was really interesting. As Jim Carrey's character, Joel, was in the midst of erasing the memories of his ex-girlfriend, he decided he'd rather keep those memories. So, the entire movie was pretty much about Joel playing mind games with himself in order to keep the memories of his time with his ex-girlfriend, Clementine (played by Kate Winslet). Mark Ruffalo and Kirsten Dunst both had fairly prominent roles in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind and I feel as though they played them very well. The film editing was very choppy, which did not appeal to me, but I can see that it was the desired effect. The ending of the film tied together quite nicely and it really made me stop and think.
I will definitely be watching this movie again. But maybe not at 3 am the next time around. It requires a lot of attention and thinking.
I heard about this movie for sooooo long before I finally found it for free on the internet somewhere. (sorry). Made me cry and possibly induced an anxiety fit (most good movies do, though, right???) I'd like to make everyone I love watch this, but I also don't mind just continuing to watch it again on my own so I can just cry and think it's all good, remembering that I'd rather remember.
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Kate Winslet | Clementine Kruczynski |
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Jim Carrey | Joel Barish |
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Elijah Wood | Patrick Wertz |
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Mark Ruffalo | Stan |
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Kirsten Dunst | Mary Svevo |
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Tom Wilkinson | Dr. Howard Mierzwiak |
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Ryan Whitney | Young Joel |
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Jane Adams | Carrie |
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Debbon Ayer | Joel's mother |
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David Cross | Rob |
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Gerry Robert Byrne | Train Conducter |
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Brian Price | Young Bully |
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Josh Flitter | Young Bully |
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Paulie Litt | Young Bully |
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Lola Daehler | Young Clementine |
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Amir Ali Said | Young Bully |
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Lauren Adler | Rollerblader |
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Deirdre O'Connell | Hollis |
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Thomas Jay Ryan | Frank |
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Michel Gondry | Director |
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Charlie Kaufman | Screenplay |
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Pierre Bismuth | Story |
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Jon Brion | Original Music Composer |
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Ellen Kuras | Director of Photography |
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Anthony Bregman | Producer |
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Steve Golin | Producer |
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Chris Norr | Camera Operator |
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Charlie Kaufman | Story Contributor |
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Michel Gondry | Story Contributor |
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Pierre Bismuth | Story Contributor |
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Valdís Óskarsdóttir | Editing |
"I already forget how I used to feel about you."
Emotionally withdrawn Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) and unhinged free spirit Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) strike up a relationship on a Long Island Rail Road train from Montauk, New York. They are almost immediately drawn to each other on account of their radically different personalities.Although they apparently do not realize it at the time, Joel and Clementine are in fact former lovers, now separated after having spent two years together. After a nasty fight, Clementine hired the New York City firm Lacuna, Inc. to erase all her memories of their relationship. (The term "lacuna" means a gap or missing part; for instance, lacunar amnesia is a gap in one's memory about a specific event.) Upon discovering this, Joel is devastated and decides to undergo the procedure himself, a process that takes place while he sleeps.Much of the film takes place in Joel's mind. As his memories are erased, Joel finds himself revisiting them in reverse. Upon seeing happier times of love with Clementine from earlier in their relationship, he struggles to preserve at least some memory of her and his love for her. Despite his efforts, the memories are slowly erased, with the last memory of Clementine telling him: "Meet me in Montauk".In separate but related story arcs occurring during Joel's memory erasure, the employees of Lacuna are revealed to be more than peripheral characters. Patrick (Elijah Wood), one of the Lacuna technicians performing the erasure, is dating Clementine while viewing Joel's memories, and copying aspects of their relationship in order to seduce her. Mary (Kirsten Dunst), the Lacuna receptionist, turns out to have had an affair with Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), the married doctor who heads the company—a relationship which she agreed to have erased from her memory when it was discovered by his wife. Once Mary learns this, she quits her job and steals the company's records, then sends them out to all clients of the company.Joel and Clementine come upon their Lacuna records shortly after re-encountering each other on the train. They react with shock and bewilderment, given that they have no clear memory of having known each other, let alone having had a relationship and having had their memories erased. Joel beckons Clementine to start over; Clementine initially resists, pointing out it could go the same way. Joel accepts this, and they decide to attempt a relationship anyway, starting their life together anew.
Theatrical : 2012-04-30 : Ireland
Theatrical : 2012-04-30 : United Kingdom
Theatrical : 2004-05-13 : Hong Kong
Theatrical : 2004-05-20 : Austria
Theatrical : 2004-05-20 : Germany
Theatrical : 2004-05-20 : Portugal
Theatrical : 2004-06-04 : Denmark
Theatrical : 2004-06-11 : Iceland
Theatrical : 2004-06-25 : Estonia
Theatrical : 2004-07-08 : Argentina
Theatrical : 2004-07-09 : Panama
Theatrical : 2004-07-22 : Israel
Theatrical : 2004-07-22 : Switzerland
Theatrical : 2004-07-23 : Brazil
Theatrical : 2004-07-23 : Mexico
Theatrical : 2004-08-04 : Philippines
Theatrical : 2004-08-12 : Czech Republic
Theatrical : 2004-08-13 : Finland
Theatrical : 2004-08-13 : Poland
Theatrical : 2004-08-19 : Hungary
Theatrical : 2004-08-20 : Norway
Theatrical : 2004-08-20 : Sweden
Theatrical : 2004-09-01 : Philippines
Theatrical : 2004-09-09 : Chile
Theatrical : 2004-09-09 : Thailand
Theatrical : 2004-09-11 : Netherlands
Theatrical : 2004-09-16 : Netherlands
Theatrical : 2004-09-23 : Spain
Theatrical : 2004-09-24 : Spain
Theatrical : 2004-10-06 : Bahrain
Theatrical : 2004-10-06 : France
Theatrical : 2004-10-07 : Slovakia
Theatrical : 2004-10-13 : Switzerland
Theatrical : 2004-10-22 : Italy
Theatrical : 2004-11-10 : Belgium
Theatrical : 2005-01-07 : Bulgaria
Theatrical : 2005-03-19 : Japan
Theatrical : 2005-11-10 : South Korea
Theatrical : 2006-05-26 : Turkey
Theatrical : 2004-03-19 : United States of America
Theatrical : 2004-04-14 : Australia
Theatrical : 2004-04-16 : Taiwan
Theatrical : 2004-04-23 : Greece
Theatrical : 2004-04-29 : Russia
2004-07-03 : Czech Republic
2004-09-09 : France
2004-09-15 : United Arab Emirates
2004-10-07 : Belgium
2004-12-04 : Indonesia
2005-02-27 : Japan
Freebase: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, licensed under CC-BY
Wikipedia: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, licensed under CC BY-SA
