eternal sunshine of the spotless mind streaming

#Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind streaming movie

Does Joel love Clementine, or just the version of Clementine he talks to in his head? Would they be happier if they just forgot each other or are they just doomed to repeat the same failed relationship again and again? As a multi-layered text, this is one of the richest screenplays you’ll ever see brought to screen. As a writer, he is concerned with both memory and questions of reality. That’s the wizardry of Kaufman’s writing style. The plot summary must end there, but the film itself is both deeply narrative and deeply thematic.

So they “go off the map”, much to the confusion of both the procedure technician (MARK RUFFALO), his girlfriend (KIRSTEN DUNST), and the doctor they call out of bed to handle the situation (TOM WILKINSON). He and the version of Clementine that his subconscious projects (remember: we’re in his mind the Clementine he talks to in his mind isn’t really her, just his memory of her) devise a plan to botch the procedure so he can remember her come daylight, find her, and rekindle the romance. We see the entirety of he and Clementine’s relationship: the day they meet, their first fight, what must be their fiftieth fight, and more.īut not all of the memories are bad, and partway through the procedure Joel gets cold feet.

#Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind streaming movie

Joel decides to go through with it and the bulk of the movie takes place in Joel’s mind, reliving the memories for a few moments just before they’re erased. But it’s on par with a night of heavy drinking nothing you’ll miss.” “Well, technically speaking the procedure is brain damage. “Is there any risk of brain damage?” Joel asks the doctor.

promises that you will be able to erase painful memories from your mind – a bad breakup, the death of a beloved pet, or anything else you want to forget – in just one night. Yes, in the world of ETERNAL SUNSHINE such a procedure exists and is in fact quite popular. We later learn that they have dated for years, broke up, and both underwent a memory-erasing procedure to forget the other existed. Clem insists she has met Joel before Joel doesn’t think so. Joel Barish (JIM CARREY) and Clementine Kruczynski (KATE WINSLET) meet on a train to Montauk, spend the day together, and immediately start falling for one another. Oscar-winning oddball screenwriter Charlie Kaufman is set to debut his newest film I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS on Netflix in September, so I thought now would be as good a time as any to revisit what I believe is his best work: ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (also streaming on Netflix).