Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind begins much like any other typical romantic comedy. An uptight guy and a spontaneous girl have an instant connection, it seems like a typical case of opposites attract.
However, Charles Kaufman's screenplay takes a totally different approach. When the next seen switched to Joel (Jim Carrey) bemoaning the fact that Clementine (Kate Winslet) had broken up with him I assumed perhaps we were going to see the relationship in reverse. Which is what we see, but with a very unique twist.
In the world that Joel and Clementine live, there is a company named Lacuna Inc, owned by Dr Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) which can remove memories of people from someone's mind. Joel is heartbroken to find that Clementine has had him removed, and decides to have the same procedure in order to rid her from his mind. Yet whilst the procedure is being carried out, Joel realises that despite the pain they cause him, he wants to keep these memories that he has with Clementine intact, and the film follows his attempts-in his mind-to preserve the memories he has with Clementine, who is similarly aware of what is happening and they attempt to hide deeper and deeper in Joel's past.
At the same time, we are exposed to the lives of the Lacuna Inc employees. Patrick (Elijah Wood) is an intern, who falls in love with Clementine when they are removing Joel from her mind. He is currently attempting to win her over, by using the same words that Joel used. On the other side is the main operator Stan (Mark Ruffalo) who is dating the receptionist Mary (Kristen Dunst).
As well as dealing with the nuances of relationships; exploring what draws people together and in turn what draws them apart-as well as examining what really happens when 'opposites attract', Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind also deals with the issue of the importance of memories to who we are. To me, whilst there are aspects of my past that I would like to forget they have made me the person I am, and this seems to be what the character of Joel discovers. The whole ethical dilemma facing this kind of company is revealed towards the end of the film where Mary, having just initiated a kiss with Howard, is informed (by his wife) that she has already had an affair with him-but she agreed to have the memory removed in order to carry on with her job. Mary responds by sending out the files of all the clients back to them-the scenes where Mary, Joel and Clementine listen to the tapes that describe the person they want to get rid of is one of the sadder moments of the film.
Personally, I find Jim Carrey grating a lot of the time-perhaps because I have only seen him in films like Bruce Almighty, Son of the Mask and Ace Ventura-but he gives a wonderfully quiet performance as Joel in this, a character that the viewer never fully understands. Similarly, Kate Winslet manages to bring a vibrancy and humour to Clementine that she undercuts with a level of insecurity. Other good support is provided by Kristen Dunst, in a slightly underwritten role, and Mark Ruffalo, who brings humour and awkward tenderness to the role of Stan.
Whilst this a film that gets confusing if you look away for a moment, as you try and grasp to whereabouts you are in Joel's mind, it is a lovely, gentle, intelligent exploration into relationships and how the past affects the present.
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