Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I can honestly say my favorite movie of all time is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. At first, the movie can seem very confusing but once you understand what it’s about it is a masterpiece. The screenwriter Charlie Kaufman also wrote Being John Malkovich another one of my all time favorites, so you can see what kind of movie this is. The film is about Joel and Clementine, a couple who decides to erase each other from their minds. Once Joel finds out Clementine did it, he decides to get the procedure done as well. Unfortunately halfway through these memories he realizes he wants to keep them, and doesn’t want to forget all the history they had together. 

Most of the film is the memories that he wants to keep. The movie travels back in time to the present, with Joel unconscious getting the procedure done. This movie takes time and space to the next level since he's essentially in his own mind back in time.  It can be very confusing what dimension they are in but the cinematography helps this confusion.

The camera work plays a major role in deciphering what is a memory and what is reality. The memory scenes are usually shot in hand held, and the faces become distorted and blurry. We’re also able to tell what time period it is by the color of Clementine’s hair, which she changes frequently. Although it seems to not be a big part of the plot, it plays a major role in deciphering what’s a memory and how far back into the relationship they are.

The big plot twist in the movie (spolier alert) is that the beginning of the film is actually in end the of the film. After watching it a few times, you start to understand. The beginning seems to be them meeting for the first time but it it is actually them meeting for a second time post memory deletion. This plays into one of the many themes, fate.  Another important factor for being able to tell what is just a memory is the soundtrack used. During some of the memory scenes, the music was fuzzy and sounded like it was broken or rewinding. During reality, normal music was played. I could watch this movie everyday, and still find it just as fascinating as the day before.