Written By Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, Pierre Bismuth
Directed by Michel Gondry
Starring Jim Carry & Kate Winslet
Released 2004
An odd couple, Joel Barish and Clementine Kruczynski, reach the end of their convoluted relationship and go through extreme, and never before heard of, lengths to move on from each other. By undergoing a procedure that literally erases specific memories, both Joel and Clementine forget they ever met, let alone fell in love. Something is unusual about Joels procedure, however, as his subconscious seems to be attempting to out run the process. Through Joels labyrinth of memories involving Clementine, he realizes he doesn’t want to erase her at all. In hopes of hiding just a single recollection of her, Joels searches for a space in his mind the doctors won’t search, but eventually, he exhausts every corner of his unconscious realm and can only say farewell to his beloved Clementine. Yet somehow, by some fortuitous event, the two find themselves meeting all over again, and discover why it was more than mere chance that brought them together.
Story
Michel Gondry did an absolute brilliant execution of portraying the very fabrics of our emotional and mental world and how it would feel like to lose our total knowledge of the people we love. What makes this story so relatable is the universal feeling of heartbreak and dealing with grief in sometimes maximal ways, such as getting rid of furniture, quitting jobs, even moving to different towns, all attempts at dissipating the painful remnants if your breakup. If you dabble in magic, there’s plenty of love and connection spells that even aid in permanently separating you and a significant other; clearly, there’s a multitude of ways to move on. The question this story asks us to ponder is if we would ever be so devastated or so distraught over a loss loved one, would we go the irreversible route of eliminating our entire history together and live the rest of our lives not ever knowing what happened. I’m assuming, hypothetically, there would still be a strange void or some sort of unexplainable emptiness that would be unsettling, as if there’s a big part of your life where you can’t seem to recall anything of it, or perhaps major moments that are no longer retained in your brain and your current life contradicts the memories you do have left. The clinic who performs this procedure, first records a tape of the patient explaining in very candid terms, who they are erasing and why. Then they send letters out to their closest friends informing them about the procedure and to not mention said-person to the patient. So afterwards, everyone knows about this big secret that you’re apart of, except for you, you don’t even remember having the procedure when you awake.
In an unsuspecting twist, an assistant to the doctors, Mary, praises the genius that entails such a formula that pinpoints the areas of emotional and mental contusions, and dissolves them as if they never happened. Ironically, she comes to find out rather abruptly that she also had the procedure done not so long ago, and everyone around her knew, knew why, knew with who, and of course never said anything to her. I interpreted a devastating feeling of embarrassment and even a slight sense of betrayal, even though she consented to go through with the process. It was when she heard her own tape that was recorded, the weight of it appeared to sink into her stomach. Through her discovery, is what eventually turns the entire thing on its head, but it also made a very valid portrayal of a person who can’t directly relate or empathize with the conflicts of dealing with such heaviness from a loss, or they can’t grasp the seriousness of it because they idealize the “freedom” aspect of not having to worry about anyone else. It isn’t until they experience this sensation, if you will, when they can fully acknowledge the severity and complexity of dealing with this tender time of a persons life. Once our characters are told what they had done and were able to actually hear their own recordings, and their partners, the memories themselves still never came back. They had to now emotionally fast forward their entire relationship from the beginning to the end, and somehow make sense of them only accounting for the very short time they can logically say they’ve know each other but then try to discuss the old issues and feelings that drove them to undergo removing them. Discombobulated is probably the best word I can think of to describe how I would feel to be in that kind of situation. Even so, they decide to still be together, even if they already know it won’t work out, because obviously it didn’t work out previously, but the love they have was worth that.
Imagery & Production
Production Design was by Dan Leigh (John Wick, Pride & Glory) and Director of Photography was Ellen Kuras (Away We Go, Be Kind Rewind). To look firstly at the set design and visual art that was created, this film released iconic imagery that has far surpassed its time. The bed on the beach right in front of the ocean, the giant sink where our characters were given bubble baths, the rain pouring down inside their apartment, the house that starts to fill up with sand, there’s a bundle of scenes, moments, transitions that are ridiculously impressive. Adding to that remarkable artistry, Michel Gondry really wanted to make all the effects PRACTICAL! AND HE DID! Playing with various screens, lighting tricks, camera angles, prop and set layouts, body doubles, projectors, and more, they were able to pull off what was deemed to be impossible. It was stated that in the first meetings of discussing what Gondry wanted and how he wanted to do it, everyone thought he was insane, that there was no way to achieve such ambitious shots and still allow the actors to perform, operate the cameras, move large and numerous equipment, not run into each other or trip over something, all in a one take, and not get totally overwhelmed. Those psychos did it though, and they did it so undeniably good.
One of the more obvious motifs was Clementines hair color, that directly represented the time the two have been dating and at what phase were they in. So, when Joel met her, Clementine has green hair which represented Spring, new growth, spontaneity, it was the very beginning of them meeting and hanging out together. That was the night they broke into the beach house and pretended they lived there, which would end up book ending the film as the very last memory that gets taken away from Joel. Then her hair goes to this fiery red and it is Summer time, the two are very passionate about each other, they create a lot of memories in this phase, mostly happy ones. Afterwards her hair is Orange, representing Fall, and the beginning of their decay. At this phase is when the energy that use to be alive and fresh is now becoming stale and suffocating. This is the phase of their downfall at which they decide to erase each other from their memories. We end with Clementine who now has Blue hair representing Winter, and coldness from them both, there’s no heat between them at all because now they don’t even know each other, but it also represents the new space for them to start again, a clean slate that will eventually turn back into Spring. It’s all very subtle the way this design is displayed, but I felt it added a perfect extra layer to not only Clementines character but the overall symbolism of the entire story. It was all very visually original, creative and pleasing and knowing the lengths and teamwork that was demanded to make it happen is nothing less than immensely admirable.
Performance
Jim Carry (as Joel Barish) and Kate Winslet (as Clementine Kruczynski) playing this complex couple was the eccentric dysfunction I needed in my life. Jim Carry is more often type casted for extreme or outlandish roles (The Mask, Ace Ventura, Dumb & Dumber, Bruce Almighty, The Grinch), so to be able to see his range playing an introverted, or rather pedestrian, role was really enjoyable and I felt he delivered Joel Barish believably. Same applies with Kate Winslet, who I’ve mostly watch act in roles of poise and levelheadedness, delicacy, hidden or withheld sadness, and deeply emotional (Titanic, The Holiday, Finding Neverland, Revolutionary Road). With Clementine, Kate Winslet was able to expand the area of playfulness, spastic energy, impulsiveness, unhinged acts of love and anger, outspoken and unfiltered communication, and she did an extraordinary job! Joel and Clementine were much more realistic and entertaining than Rose and Jack Dawson, that’s for sure.
Some of the supporting actors were Elijah Wood (as Jack), Mark Ruffalo (as Stan), Kristen Dunst (as Mary), David Cross (as Rob), Deirdre O’Connell (as Hollis), and Tom Wilkinson (as Dr. Mierzwiak). I obviously hated Elijah Wood’s character, which was intentional of course, and yes it was obviously weird because I kept seeing him as Frodo being a total scumbag. Besides Carry and Winslet, I sincerely viewed Kristen Dunst’s character and her performance one of the strongest in the cast. Dunst has been in this industry a while as well, since childhood, and her talent and skill reflects that. She was able to make a secondary person who was rather looked over and no one really cared about at all, become the one we felt the most sadness towards. My heart went out to Mary much more than Joel and Clementine because of how I could see the presence of utter disbelief and disgust Mary went through. Her arch also happened much faster at the end, but Dunst played it so perfectly and smoothly, the stark change in her personality was still not jarring or unbelievable. It was also noted that director Michel Gondry had the actors spend time together in very close proximities prior to filming to allow themselves to be genuinely comfortable with each other so that the interaction on screen wasn’t forced or seem fake. I really enjoyed everyones role honestly and felt every actor gave a great performance of their specific part.
What Does it Mean?
I think of the statement “even if I know how it was going to end, I’d do it all over again.” Typically, when asked how we feel after losing someone or something we love, we may respond with something similar to this statement, something along the lines of repeating it all just for the sake of it, even fully knowing it won’t last. I can truthfully say, there are plenty of past instances where if I could go back and do it all over again, even though I know it was only temporary, I would absolutely do it. I don’t think it’s necessarily about fixing the mistakes, or doing things differently if you could, but more so just about the basic idea of reliving a part of your life that was so crucial to your journey, it made you who you are today and even if it came crashing down in flames, there was still passion and life in that fire that sparked a new spurt of growth and discovery. Or it was just a really f*cking amazing time of your life and you’d be crazy not to do it all again. A note to be made in the film is when Joel is waiting to be seen by the doctor in the patient waiting room, you see individuals bringing in memorabilia of their relatives or their pets who passed away, their late husband or wife, not just young couples who went through a bad breakup. I think that can be translated as the need to want to forget about any painful loss, no matter the kind of relationship it was. Loss on any level, in any category, can be catastrophic because it physically does something to our brain that signals something important or that we have deemed vital and a core part or our existence is now gone, and according to neurologists, our brain literally hurts and panics when it’s been told it has loss something. It will then do every attempt it can to gain it back, or at least a variation of it, which is why we tend to rebound after a split, or do something drastic to our hair to feel in control, even binge eat after losing weight because to our brain, loss means death.
Completely erasing a part of your life you shared with someone you love, in theory, might sound like a relieving experience, an option that might finally put your grieving mind at peace. I don’t think one would be deemed selfish or foolish for wanting that done, but I do think totally forgetting that special person is far more lonely than holding on to mere memories of them. I lost my older sister when I was 17, she was 26. She was my best friend and someone who was my hero. She inspired me to be everything that I am today and everything I want to become. I remember feeling numb at first, like nothing was real, and I couldn’t fully process what was even happening, especially because I found out so suddenly. It’s been almost 13 years since her passing and there’s still moments where I’m filled with rage, depression, paralyzing anxiety, and confusion. If I were to erase her life from my mind, yes I wouldn’t remember the trauma of losing her, but I also wouldn’t be the person I am today. I wouldn’t be able to know the things I do or relate to certain people and help others deal with loss. Plus, her life was so awesome while she was here, that it deserves to be remembered to the fullest. Same goes for the other types of trauma I’ve had to endure especially as a child, and I have to consider the person I would be if those memories that are only filled with darkness were promptly erased. I might not struggle with certain disorders and triggers that I have now, but I might also not be as resilient or wise, or learned how to love myself and others properly. Looking back at my life so far, I can’t say there’s anything I would want to erase because it has all brought me to where I am now, and I think it’s very brave of us who decide to face our most hurtful moments and still have hope and appreciation for it all.
What I think we can take away from this message is, the point isn’t if things last forever, eventually everything goes through the natural cycle of life and death, but if at one point it made you joyous, it made you happy, it filled you with love and ambition, then it was all completely worth it and those impressions are where it will always remain. In those special treasure chests of our hearts where we can choose to look back at the beauty of it all, even if it was fleeting; our memories are the only place those special things can live forever and never be ruined. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, you have my heart forever, thank you so much for existing.