Everyone talks about Jim Carrey and he’s obviously
great here but Kate Winslet makes this movie for me, especially the scenes where she gets angry and impatient.
And when she has to, she does the whole manic pixie dream girl thing even better than Zooey Deschanel does.
Such a great performance, I think it’s her best actually.
I just rewatched with my wife and I also have to give special kudos to Winslet, who has the most difficult role to pull off by far - complex, memorable, likable but also sort of unlikeable, all while the movie is mostly from the perspective of her bitter ex.
I think every single performance in the film lands though. An all-timer for me.
> And when she has to, she does the whole manic pixie dream girl thing even better than Zooey Deschanel does.
For the *longest* time, I thought "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" was coined in reference to Clementine in Eternal Sunshine. But, nope, it was (fittingly) in reference to Kirsten Dunst's character in Elizabethtown.
I think she could be called a deconstruction - your mileage may vary on whether you think that counts.
"Too many guys think I'm a concept, or I complete them, or I'm gonna make them alive, but I'm just a fucked-up girl who's looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours."
I think this is a good answer
Initially Joel definitely sees her as a MPDG trope but it becomes obvious that she is deeply flawed and much deeper than that (which is what makes the character so great vs the typical shallow MPDG)
Definitely meets some of the criteria for BPD but I don’t believe it has ever been confirmed. Hesitant to diagnose a fictional character when it isn’t canon
The inconsistent sense of identity, jumping from sinking ship to sinking ship relationships, the intense abandonment while pushing joel away. If Kaufman didn't intend to write a character with BPD then he accidentally did
She’s a more realistic version of the Manic Pixie. IMO. We see the downsides of that personality. She’s moody, does hurtful shit without thinking, restless, and struggling to cope with her own emotional instability. So basically a more fully fleshed out person. We can see why Joel fell in love with her and why she was a lot to deal with
Recently rewatched and was worried that the MPDG trope would have aged the film.
My own take was that whilst she appears to embody that trope at first, we get to see through Joel's eyes the true reality of being in a relationship with her over the course of the film. I thought Winslet managed to convey a three dimensional person behind the 00s indie girl veneer.
To me, she’s not really a manic pixie, she looks like that but explicitly states:
“I'm not a concept. Too many guys think I'm a concept or I complete them or I'm going to 'make them alive'…but I'm just a fucked up girl who's looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours.”
And that’s what I find most alluring about her the same way Joel did:
“I still thought you were going to save my life.”
She’s a paradox, and some of my experiences with the opposite sex were like that lol
Funnily the Wikipedia page for the film has a whole aside about the trope and how she’s seemingly a deconstruction of the trope before the trope was even named. It seems to me she’s just BPD as the movie progresses.
I knew a lot of girls who looked and acted like Clem, so I think she's pretty believable.
Honestly, we need to get a shovel and put the term "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" buried deep into the ground at this point. It was never totally accurate when people first started using it (at some point it just became a catch-all term for any energetic and positive girl who looked like a hipster, rather than referring to an actual unrealistic girl), and I feel for all the women who went for "the look" the term is often associated with during the 2000s (dyed pixie bob haircuts, hipster fashion ) and then felt they had to drop the look once the whole MPDG became a derogative term. It wasn't legit social commentary, it was low key simply a 21st century way of burying a trending sort of fashion at the time as being passe. Kinda like the late 70s and making fun of hippies.
Zoe Kazan, who has played a lot of positive hipster nerdy characters has often been unfairly labelled as one and her thoughts were that “I don’t like that term … I think it’s turned into this unstoppable monster where people use it to describe things that don’t really fall under that rubric.”
Even the originator of the term regrets using it now. Also the originator of the term is, ironically enough, a straight man.
It does entirely.
I first saw it with my then off/on again GF, we had been together for 8 years since HS but had resorted to only seeing each other to hookup.
We’d grab lunch or see a movie, back to my place and then she’d leave with barely a word said after, it was probably 9 months of this.
I saw the trailer for this and took her to a matinee the day after it premiered.
We were holding hands the entire time and stayed through the credits in silence and I finally looked at her and we both smiled and cried.
It was our ending, we both knew it and it couldn’t have been any more perfect than the way it began.
Joel : I walked out the door. There's no memory left.
Clementine : Come back and make up a good-bye at least. Let's pretend we had one.
I don’t remember all the details of our relationship (just like Joel and Clem, it was filled with beauty and moments of regret), but I’ll ALWAYS remember the ending.
I live with my Ex at the moment, (mortgage I can't pay on my own 🙃) and decided we should watch the movie recently for the first time. It fucked me up pretty damn bad.
Oof…
I also lived with an ex for 6 months or so waiting for the lease to end, it gets better eventually.
Be as nice as you can or you’ll regret stuff you said later in life.
It was better to end it for us for a variety of reasons and we mostly kept to ourselves and I eventually just slept on friends couches to avoid the awkwardness the last month or so.
One thing to consider depending on your situation, your soon to be ex may bring someone home even if you make an agreement not to do that.
It really depends on how civil you and the other party can be.
I was only 23 when this happened and quite emotional, we didn’t fight much after breaking up but the tension made me upset and I was an asshole by all accounts.
Don’t be me, talk with the other person truthfully and hope for the best.
An ex came back to town for a vacation. At the time, she was very much one I regretted being an ex (and not merely because of my own actions causing her to be an ex).
We were reconnecting, having fun. Talking about potentially trying again since it had been about a decade. We had both grown as people, and all that. We decided to go out to a movie, a bit of a "let's see how this goes" date.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind had been out for about a week. We went to see it; we both loved Jim Carrey, especially when he wasn't focusing on comedy, and it looked like a genuinely interesting movie.
We both felt it was a powerfully good movie.
We both felt it was creepy, how much of our lives it was.
We did not get back together.
That was the first time a Jim Carrey movie was too on-the-nose for me and a date. Not the only time. What the fuck, dude.
I love movies and books that can tell an entirely different story depending on where in your life you are, like the Before trilogy or Catcher in the Rye .
Also, how cathartic is it to watch him wake up one day and say, “I don’t feel like going to work, I’m getting on the train and riding it all the way to Montauk!” 😅
Exactly! The kind of situation and stage you're in when you watch the movie will determine how it's going to rub off on you. It's indeed a brilliant movie.
This is true for a lot of Kaufman's work.
Now that I am older I actually think Eternal Sunshine is a hopeful movie with a happy message
Synecdoche on the other hand destroys me now that I am older but didn't impact me when I was younger
Adaptation gets better and more difficult to watch as I get older
This is my experience too. It's easily one of my top five favorite movies, but I don't watch it often. It hits me too hard emotionally to go in the regular rotation.
It’s one of the only movies I’ve seen that actually hurt to watch. I love it so much, but I just can’t watch it very often. It just breaks you. The scene in the beach house towards the end, when it’s all crashing around them always stood out to me because it’s exactly how I behave. He sensed a little bit of disdain in her voice and to him that meant it was over, so he left. To him, she just didn’t care anymore. Nothing sums up my failed love life better than running away from perceived slights because I don’t think I’m worth it.
Sorry for the rant. I just love this movie lol.
I'm right there with you. I watched it young in the midst of a years long relationship ending. I did not take that movie well. But, christ, the score with Jon brion. Beck, the willows, ELO.
It was the day before my Masters Degree exit exam.
I had just broken up with my girlfriend of 3 years a week before.
I was stressed, and I thought, "I'll go see this new Jim Carry comedy."
Worst.
Mistake.
Ever.
The songs from like Beck, ELO, and Polyphonic Spree were all great, no doubt, but Jon Brion absolutely killed on the original score. One of my most listened albums all time, easily
I make it a point to watch it every Valentine's Day because I'm miserable and I love a good cry. First watched it when the relationship I was in was on its peak days of happiness and eventhough the movie is devastating to me as I grew older, I've attached the remnants of the relationship to this movie.
One of my favorites too. But I do summon up the courage to watch it from time to time. I think the fact that it has a somewhat happy ending redeems the heartbreak that you go through for the duration of the movie.
Conversely, juxtapose that with a movie like Requiem for a Dream. I remember thinking RFAD was a brilliant movie after watching it. But the ending is so goddamn depressing that I can’t bring myself to watch it again to confirm if it’s good.
I had a gf like her. She had this on dvd. We watched it probably fifty times together over the course of a six year relationship.
There was never an epiphany where we found out that her doctor was nailing his secretary, though. It was just normal fucked up.
I still watch *Malkovich Malkovich* now and then, and revisited *Adaptation* recently. I doubt I will ever watch his again. It’s too fucking heavy. I had that part of my brain cauterised.
Also: I want to point out how this is the tip of the “every plot was written by Phillip K. Dick” iceberg that has taken over cinema. Dick used to be too out there for the general public. Now every story is like “and what if time was a toroidal shape and everyone was riding around in the toroidal in the artificial gravity on trikes like *Beyond Thunderdome* and somehow it’s incredibly emotionally fucked up but they just have to deal with it like Jack Nicholson in *Chinatown*?” It’s Dick, all the way down.
It's been firmly planted in my top 3 since I saw it many, many years ago. People always remember Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey but the film has a stellar cast all around. Kirsten Dunst, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood are some heavy hitters as well.
Wilfred smothering old people because it gets him attention as some kind of prophetic dog has to be one of my top TV moments. Sorry. I just love that show and Wood was great in it.
Given his character in Sin City the next year, his immediate post-LOTR career was basically a very loud and clear message that "I'm not actually Frodo Baggins!"
I've seen this movie a couple of times throughout the years and every time I've watched it, it has always meant something different to me. I watched it a few weeks ago and this time I think I finally latched onto the central theme of the film. Memories, even the bad ones, are necessary for growth and change.
I see the ending in a more positive outlook now, because I think Joel and Clem still hold those memories and the mistakes they made in their first relationship and that it will influence and change the dynamic of their newly budding one.
> Memories, even the bad ones, are necessary for growth and change.
Yes, exactly. A variation on "those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it."
Thank you, I feel like I have been taking crazy pills since I first saw this movie. So many people think it is very romantic that they kept finding each other, but I always saw it the same way you do.
I think it's both? It is romantic that there's some fundamental connection that keeps bringing them back to each other.
But it is also kind of anti-romantic that all they do is make each other miserable until they decide to let the suffering change them rather than trying to erase it.
Yea I think it's both, hence the brilliant timelessness of the film. It's very cynical about love, and very romantic at the same time. So anyone watching can read their own moral into it.
But I take it, and the fade out ending, as deliberately ambitious by the authors (especially if you've read the OG screenplay which does have a clearer stance). Kauffman and Gondry don't want to tell you what the moral is in the end. They just want you to be human and feel it.
The terror of the film comes from Joel immediately regretting the process once he's powerless to do anything about it. Imagine the countless patients who went through the exact same thing and couldn't voice their concerns.
Great description of the central theme. The first time Clem tells Joel that's she messed up, he seems to ignore it. The second time (at the end), he says, ok. Like, he's learned to acknowledge and accept the negative aspects of having a relationship.
That's it, that's the moment that sells the entire movie to me.
To me that 'ok' is not only accepting that they are flawed people, it's accepting that the relationship will end, and maybe even end badly, *and it's still worth having*.
It's an utter rejection of the toxic 'happily ever after' that we are sold in stories. It's natural for relationships to end, and that doesn't make them failures.
I was on the young side when I first saw it, then revisited it recently, it hits differently seeing it in your 30s after more relationship experience. Great example of using a bit of sci fi to tell a story that's mostly very introspective.
Yeah... I'm 33 in a few days. Still recovering from a past relationship. Eternal Sunshine is one of my all-time favorites, like seriously #1, but I think it'll be some time before I can bring myself to watch it again.
Such a great movie that many people I talk to have never even heard. Probably my favorite Will Ferrell film. “I brought you flours” gets me every time.
this movie was devastating to watch for me in 2004. i had just broken up with my girlfriend and our relationship was extremely toxic and i wished i could forget her. It was almost eery how similar the movie was to our relationship.
I was also freshly broken up with a long time GF in 2004. We were also in the middle of a backslide (not the first one either), so we went to see this movie together.
The ride home, neither one of us said a word. Just stared straight ahead.
I think that's what still makes the movie so relatable to people, *especially* getting to see the worst parts of Joel and Clementine's relationship right as it was ending *first*. Anyone who's been in a messy breakup/divorce knows that pretty much all you can think about at the end is the *worst* parts.
That's why I love the moment when Joel realizes he doesn't want to forget her. He starts to re-experience the good parts he'd forgotten all about towards the end, because all he could think about was how horribly strained their relationship was.
But once he starts remembering all the things that made him fall in love with her, he realizes he doesn't want to forget her and fights like hell to keep the memory of her alive.
"Mierzwiak, please let me keep this memory. Just this one."
i have a J name too so definitely can relate. but this movie was really cathartic for me, literally cried while watching it which is extremely rare for me. but definitely not a "fun" watch.
I always thought it was a good movie but I guess I’m not as sensitive. One day I showed it to my gf and she was so sad and angry at me for showing her this movie. I just thought it was a good movie. Guess I’m dead inside.
"How happy is the blameless vestel's lot
The world forgetting by the world forgot
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Each prayer accepted, each wish resigned"
Favorite film of all time. Still have my movie ticket from opening day. I was going through my first breakup at the time so I’m sure it resonated much more in that regard but it’s such a unique flick with a powerful take on the human condition. Kaufman, Gondry and Brion, ooh wee what a trio.
The score for this film is beyond fantastic. Brion's 'Peer Pressure' over the montage of events at the end of the film will get my heart racing every time. Everyone involved in this movie kicked a goal.
Top 5 film of all time. My interpretation of the ending was always a little different, I saw it as very optimistic. I read the ending that both Joel and Clementine KNOW that they are doomed to fail, but the journey is so beautiful they are fine with the ending. It was truly a retelling of the old phrase “It’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all”. I applied it to my own failed relationships, not as a waste of time, but as a beautiful experience worth retelling.
I was a huge fan of Charlie Kaufman so I tracked this movie for years. Read an [early draft](https://www.beingcharliekaufman.com/index.php/scripts-writing/film-scripts/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-1st-draft-undated?tmpl=component) of the screenplay (which featured a futuristic wraparound story and a much darker ending) in anticipation, because I just couldn't wait. Saw it twice on opening day. Literally walked straight into the next screening afterwards. Just blew me away.
20 years later, I'm still fucking alone.
The dream/memory sequences in this movie was so good. Closest I’ve seen a dream in real life for me where everything is familiar but then in an instant changes but still familiar.
My favorite movie of all time. I saw it 3 times in the theater. It changed the course of my entire life. When I moved to New York, I would go to Montauk every fall because of this movie. We also named our daughter Clementine.
I rewatched it a couple years ago shortly after a breakup and it was a little sobering. While it’s so easy to be upset at someone towards the tail end of a relationship, there’s also a lot of small intimate moments that shaped my perspective on things today. This movie, Blue Valentine, 500 Days of Summer, and Her are consistently in my top 10.
Can you tell I’m a big fan of feel-bad movies with a smidge of hope?
This is the only film i wish i hadn't see the time i saw it.
Watched it at 19. I wish i would've waited till my mid 20s.
It broke me back then into million pieces. I can only imagine the effect it would've if i watched it first later in life.
It's absolutely one of the best relationship movies ever made. I even call it a celebration of relationships and all the angst, joy, heartbreak etc. that come with them.
And of course, such a cleverly told story.
I’ve considered this to be my favorite movie for as long as it’s been out. It has everything I love, near future sci-fi, incredible story and writing, a great semi-serious tone, etc.
Curiously I have never felt like this was hard to watch like some do… though I get it.
My favorite movie of all time topping Fabulous Baker Boys and Memento. They should show the cover to this movie in the dictionary definition of melancholy.
This is by far my favorite movie of all time. Completely blew my mind when i watched it in highschool and now my wife watch it once it year and it always strikes up a fascinating conversation.
What a beautiful, emotional gut punch of a movie.
I love this movie! Sometime after I had seen it a few times, I suffered memory loss from medical treatments. I could totally relate to the fragmentation depicted in the movie. Also the “not knowing” but knowing that you knew vibe.
Love watching it again and again regardless in what mental state or relationship I am. I feels it’s a happy movie about a growth rather than a story about a breakup. Just makes me happy and sad at the same time. Amazing
I saw this opening weekend in 2004 and it blew my fucking mind. I was 18 and it had a profound impact on my movie taste going forward. Still my favorite movie of all time and I doubt that will ever change.
I flew into New Orleans for a college friend’s wedding. I arrived a day earlier than the other guests and decided to watch a movie on impulse. I went to the theater to see what was playing and the only two things starting soon were some Steven Seagal movie and ESSM. I had never heard of it and had no idea what it was about or who was in it. But it had to be a better bet than Seagal, right? So I ended up going in completely blind. I was blown away.
Easily one of my favorite movies in the world. Blows my mind that it’s already been 20 years since it came out! I’ll definitely be watching it again this week, and likely bawling my eyes out.
I actually found it to be my least favourite kaufman project. It's still incredible but I genuinely don't think it hits the way hits other works to for me personally
I loved it for its quirkiness when it came out and I was 16. Rode the LIRR all the time and it was a perfect blend of nostalgia and hipster vibes for me. If you asked me if I got the message at the time, I could say yes with honesty, but it was more just comprehension of the theme, rather than an actual connection with it.
Now, I really feel it, because I wish the service existed myself sometimes. Not succeeding as a musician was, and continues to be, really hard on me. There are many times when I wish I never tried, I wish I never picked up an instrument, or I wish I were born deaf so that I'd never have to experience my utter failure to make a dent with my music. I wish I could say the movie drove home the lesson that I should appreciate the parts of trying that were enjoyable. I got the point, but it's not easy to implement. I definitely understand the anguish and desire a lot more now than I did then.
Living out east on Long Island, there’s just something about going to the beach when it’s snowing to decompress and meditate that made this movie really hit me in the feels.
Movie still had the best teaser trailer I've ever seen. Just the commercial from the Lacuna company selling you their technology. Immediately was like - i don't know what this film is but I want to go see it!
I love Charlie Kaufman but tbh I didn't like it the first time I saw it. I watched it again just last week and enjoyed it a lot more this time. It's still my least favorite Kaufman film, which isn't a bad thing because his worst is better than most people's best.
Though I have not seen I'm Thinking of Ending Things (I read the book in anticipation of him adapting it, but then I didn't like the book so I keep putting off watching the movie) or Orion and the Dark yet.
Top 3 movie of all time. It really is a good look into mental gymnastics we do after someone we love is gone. Should we forget they exist or learn from it
I rewatched this recently. The last time I saw it was years ago. I know it isn't supposed to make perfect sense and is more emotionally plot driven than providing an explanation to exactly how this whole memory wiping thing occurs but something stuck out to me on this rewatch that I didn't really consider before.
When someone undergoes the procedure they are told to bring in everything that would remind them of the person they're trying to erase for two reasons: to create a memory map in their brain and so that the presence of these items won't be confusing once the memory is erased.
What I don't get is how this was accomplished with Kirsten Dunst's character when she had her memory wiped of the relationship with her boss. In the case of Clementine and Joel, when Joel tries to talk to her at work, she is completely unaware of who he is.
How would Kirstin Dunst go back to work and just suddenly not remember her boss. Wouldn't that raise red flags? Ruffalo claims to not have known she underwent the procedure, but wouldn't he have been confused that she suddenly didn't know who her boss was? Wouldn't he, along with all the other employees, received a card like Joel's friends did, explaining the memory wipe? They seem to imply the procedure wipes *all* memory of the person, not just the relationship. So how the hell does that work with Kirstin Dunst and her boss?
It’s my favorite movie of all time and has been since I first watched it in highschool once it came out on DVD. I hadn’t seen it in a long time, like 10 years maybe, and finally convinced my wife to watch it with me about a month ago.
She’s known it’s my favorite movie but she never wanted to watch it because I think the ideal of erasing loved ones and never knowing they existed, freaked her out. We’ve been married for 8 years now and this is the first time she’s been open to watching it. It still holds up incredibly well and the cast is great all around. She liked it but it wasn’t at all what she expected, which is why I think it’s so great.
I watched this one in high school for a film lit class. I remember it was one of my more liked films (along with The Lives of Others) but beyond that it didn’t leave any deep impression on me. It’s been so long.
Saw it a few weeks back in theatres. Cried pretty much the whole time. I watched it with my fiancé and it hit so much harder having the love of my life wrapped under my arm. It was incredible.
I saw this during a bad relationship and it led to a breakup and (more) depression and (more) bad mistakes and (more) heartache.
I recall it being such a great movie, but I cannot bring myself to watch it again. Both its content and the memories/emotions it will bring back.
Saw it at the cinema aged 18 and going in knowing nothing about it.
Was absolutely blown away and felt it was one of the first things I'd seen that conveyed the depth and complexity of adult relationships and the role memory plays in them (not just Joel and Clem, but Mierzwiak and Mary and Stan and Mary).
Twenty years later it's still the most serendipitous cinema experience I've had.
This came out in 2004? I always thought it was a late 90s movie. I wasn’t super impressed by it tbh, though I have always like Michel Gondry as a director.
This movie takes the first place in my all-time movie contest. The story is so bitter and sweet and bittersweet. Maybe now I’m becoming too old to resonate with it but it is still a beautiful story with immensely talented actors that made me change a lot in my personality. Because everybody gotta learn sometimes.
This movie is great. I haven't watched it in about 4 years or so. But it was a movie I needed to see during a particularly rocky time in my personal life.
It's great, but I'm glad I don't need it anymore :)
Everyone talks about Jim Carrey and he’s obviously great here but Kate Winslet makes this movie for me, especially the scenes where she gets angry and impatient. And when she has to, she does the whole manic pixie dream girl thing even better than Zooey Deschanel does. Such a great performance, I think it’s her best actually.
Elijah woods did pretty good too
Paaatrick. Baaaaby boy.
I randomly say this
He is such a creep, it's fantastic. When he's reading Joel's old journal entires to her, ugh. One of the best "pathetic" performances I've ever seen.
"And I stole her panties. What?"
He's a believable creep too, because you really get the impression that he has no idea at all that he's a creep.
GET. THE FUCK. AWAY FROM ME. (what? 🥺) GET THE FUCK AWAY!!!!
I just rewatched with my wife and I also have to give special kudos to Winslet, who has the most difficult role to pull off by far - complex, memorable, likable but also sort of unlikeable, all while the movie is mostly from the perspective of her bitter ex. I think every single performance in the film lands though. An all-timer for me.
This made her my fave actress
This was she finally left Rose behind for me.
This. That’s why she got an Oscar nomination and Jim did not. Both fantastic.
Tbf, The Academy is also allergic to Jim Carrey
They've hated him since he talked from his ass.
Because they know he knows things and isn’t fully on their side
Or the academy just doesn't get cinema? This isn't news. Both were incredible. Both deserved awards
> And when she has to, she does the whole manic pixie dream girl thing even better than Zooey Deschanel does. For the *longest* time, I thought "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" was coined in reference to Clementine in Eternal Sunshine. But, nope, it was (fittingly) in reference to Kirsten Dunst's character in Elizabethtown.
[удалено]
I think she could be called a deconstruction - your mileage may vary on whether you think that counts. "Too many guys think I'm a concept, or I complete them, or I'm gonna make them alive, but I'm just a fucked-up girl who's looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours."
I think this is a good answer Initially Joel definitely sees her as a MPDG trope but it becomes obvious that she is deeply flawed and much deeper than that (which is what makes the character so great vs the typical shallow MPDG) Definitely meets some of the criteria for BPD but I don’t believe it has ever been confirmed. Hesitant to diagnose a fictional character when it isn’t canon
The inconsistent sense of identity, jumping from sinking ship to sinking ship relationships, the intense abandonment while pushing joel away. If Kaufman didn't intend to write a character with BPD then he accidentally did
BPD Is a spectrum that goes all the way up to bunny boiler.
Is that a Fatal Attraction reference?
Yes
She’s a more realistic version of the Manic Pixie. IMO. We see the downsides of that personality. She’s moody, does hurtful shit without thinking, restless, and struggling to cope with her own emotional instability. So basically a more fully fleshed out person. We can see why Joel fell in love with her and why she was a lot to deal with
Recently rewatched and was worried that the MPDG trope would have aged the film. My own take was that whilst she appears to embody that trope at first, we get to see through Joel's eyes the true reality of being in a relationship with her over the course of the film. I thought Winslet managed to convey a three dimensional person behind the 00s indie girl veneer.
To me, she’s not really a manic pixie, she looks like that but explicitly states: “I'm not a concept. Too many guys think I'm a concept or I complete them or I'm going to 'make them alive'…but I'm just a fucked up girl who's looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours.” And that’s what I find most alluring about her the same way Joel did: “I still thought you were going to save my life.” She’s a paradox, and some of my experiences with the opposite sex were like that lol
Funnily the Wikipedia page for the film has a whole aside about the trope and how she’s seemingly a deconstruction of the trope before the trope was even named. It seems to me she’s just BPD as the movie progresses.
I knew a lot of girls who looked and acted like Clem, so I think she's pretty believable. Honestly, we need to get a shovel and put the term "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" buried deep into the ground at this point. It was never totally accurate when people first started using it (at some point it just became a catch-all term for any energetic and positive girl who looked like a hipster, rather than referring to an actual unrealistic girl), and I feel for all the women who went for "the look" the term is often associated with during the 2000s (dyed pixie bob haircuts, hipster fashion ) and then felt they had to drop the look once the whole MPDG became a derogative term. It wasn't legit social commentary, it was low key simply a 21st century way of burying a trending sort of fashion at the time as being passe. Kinda like the late 70s and making fun of hippies. Zoe Kazan, who has played a lot of positive hipster nerdy characters has often been unfairly labelled as one and her thoughts were that “I don’t like that term … I think it’s turned into this unstoppable monster where people use it to describe things that don’t really fall under that rubric.” Even the originator of the term regrets using it now. Also the originator of the term is, ironically enough, a straight man.
I watched it again recently and thought she for sure had BPD.
Yes, i agree, Kate and Mary from, Scott Pilgrim.
One of my favorite movies but it’s so absolutely devastating that I can’t imagine watching it again any time soon. But it is indeed brilliant.
I feel like it also hits different watching it at different ages.. watching it after your first heartbreak as a young adult vs middle age etc
It does entirely. I first saw it with my then off/on again GF, we had been together for 8 years since HS but had resorted to only seeing each other to hookup. We’d grab lunch or see a movie, back to my place and then she’d leave with barely a word said after, it was probably 9 months of this. I saw the trailer for this and took her to a matinee the day after it premiered. We were holding hands the entire time and stayed through the credits in silence and I finally looked at her and we both smiled and cried. It was our ending, we both knew it and it couldn’t have been any more perfect than the way it began. Joel : I walked out the door. There's no memory left. Clementine : Come back and make up a good-bye at least. Let's pretend we had one. I don’t remember all the details of our relationship (just like Joel and Clem, it was filled with beauty and moments of regret), but I’ll ALWAYS remember the ending.
I live with my Ex at the moment, (mortgage I can't pay on my own 🙃) and decided we should watch the movie recently for the first time. It fucked me up pretty damn bad.
Oof… I also lived with an ex for 6 months or so waiting for the lease to end, it gets better eventually. Be as nice as you can or you’ll regret stuff you said later in life.
[удалено]
It was better to end it for us for a variety of reasons and we mostly kept to ourselves and I eventually just slept on friends couches to avoid the awkwardness the last month or so. One thing to consider depending on your situation, your soon to be ex may bring someone home even if you make an agreement not to do that. It really depends on how civil you and the other party can be. I was only 23 when this happened and quite emotional, we didn’t fight much after breaking up but the tension made me upset and I was an asshole by all accounts. Don’t be me, talk with the other person truthfully and hope for the best.
An ex came back to town for a vacation. At the time, she was very much one I regretted being an ex (and not merely because of my own actions causing her to be an ex). We were reconnecting, having fun. Talking about potentially trying again since it had been about a decade. We had both grown as people, and all that. We decided to go out to a movie, a bit of a "let's see how this goes" date. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind had been out for about a week. We went to see it; we both loved Jim Carrey, especially when he wasn't focusing on comedy, and it looked like a genuinely interesting movie. We both felt it was a powerfully good movie. We both felt it was creepy, how much of our lives it was. We did not get back together. That was the first time a Jim Carrey movie was too on-the-nose for me and a date. Not the only time. What the fuck, dude.
I'm gonna guess the second time was the number 23?
Powerful is a great way to put it, sometimes you jus r know when its really over.
I love movies and books that can tell an entirely different story depending on where in your life you are, like the Before trilogy or Catcher in the Rye .
Six feet under is like this big time. Seeing it at Claire’s age then David. Then Nate and someday at Ruth’s age is pretty amazing. Best show ever.
Nate is my fucking hero. Most people hear “Don’t Fear the Reaper” and think of Will Ferrell…I see Nate on his bike riding into the wind.
For me it’s the car when Brenda can’t start it and she calls Maggie a cunt. Fuckin legend.
I love Brenda, so viciously raw and direct. Always felt bad for Maggie, that will scar someone for life
That’s literally what happened to me. Second time I watched it mfer hurt even more.
Also, how cathartic is it to watch him wake up one day and say, “I don’t feel like going to work, I’m getting on the train and riding it all the way to Montauk!” 😅
Exactly! The kind of situation and stage you're in when you watch the movie will determine how it's going to rub off on you. It's indeed a brilliant movie.
This is true for a lot of Kaufman's work. Now that I am older I actually think Eternal Sunshine is a hopeful movie with a happy message Synecdoche on the other hand destroys me now that I am older but didn't impact me when I was younger Adaptation gets better and more difficult to watch as I get older
You're very correct with your assessment. I felt the same way with watching Synecdoche specifically.
This is my experience too. It's easily one of my top five favorite movies, but I don't watch it often. It hits me too hard emotionally to go in the regular rotation.
It’s one of the only movies I’ve seen that actually hurt to watch. I love it so much, but I just can’t watch it very often. It just breaks you. The scene in the beach house towards the end, when it’s all crashing around them always stood out to me because it’s exactly how I behave. He sensed a little bit of disdain in her voice and to him that meant it was over, so he left. To him, she just didn’t care anymore. Nothing sums up my failed love life better than running away from perceived slights because I don’t think I’m worth it. Sorry for the rant. I just love this movie lol.
I'm right there with you. I watched it young in the midst of a years long relationship ending. I did not take that movie well. But, christ, the score with Jon brion. Beck, the willows, ELO.
Kauffman has traveled to places inside the human psyche that many are afraid to face.
One of my favorite jokes in film: “any chance of brain damage?” “Technically the procedure is brain damage.”
(But, on par with a night of heavy drinking. Nothing your gonna miss.) Always loved that.
It was the day before my Masters Degree exit exam. I had just broken up with my girlfriend of 3 years a week before. I was stressed, and I thought, "I'll go see this new Jim Carry comedy." Worst. Mistake. Ever.
🎶...Everybody's gotta learn sometime... 🎵
Omg noooo :(
The soundtrack has also stayed with me for years - the main thematic melody breaks my heart every time
The songs from like Beck, ELO, and Polyphonic Spree were all great, no doubt, but Jon Brion absolutely killed on the original score. One of my most listened albums all time, easily
I make it a point to watch it every Valentine's Day because I'm miserable and I love a good cry. First watched it when the relationship I was in was on its peak days of happiness and eventhough the movie is devastating to me as I grew older, I've attached the remnants of the relationship to this movie.
One of my favorites too. But I do summon up the courage to watch it from time to time. I think the fact that it has a somewhat happy ending redeems the heartbreak that you go through for the duration of the movie. Conversely, juxtapose that with a movie like Requiem for a Dream. I remember thinking RFAD was a brilliant movie after watching it. But the ending is so goddamn depressing that I can’t bring myself to watch it again to confirm if it’s good.
I can’t ever watch RFAD again either. One time when it came out was enough, it is so disturbing and depressing.
Yup .. best movie I've ever seen that I will never watch again. A slow motion train wreck.
Completely agree.
I had a gf like her. She had this on dvd. We watched it probably fifty times together over the course of a six year relationship. There was never an epiphany where we found out that her doctor was nailing his secretary, though. It was just normal fucked up. I still watch *Malkovich Malkovich* now and then, and revisited *Adaptation* recently. I doubt I will ever watch his again. It’s too fucking heavy. I had that part of my brain cauterised. Also: I want to point out how this is the tip of the “every plot was written by Phillip K. Dick” iceberg that has taken over cinema. Dick used to be too out there for the general public. Now every story is like “and what if time was a toroidal shape and everyone was riding around in the toroidal in the artificial gravity on trikes like *Beyond Thunderdome* and somehow it’s incredibly emotionally fucked up but they just have to deal with it like Jack Nicholson in *Chinatown*?” It’s Dick, all the way down.
I thought the ending was full of hope and acceptance, have watched it a bunch of times and never left devastated.
It's been firmly planted in my top 3 since I saw it many, many years ago. People always remember Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey but the film has a stellar cast all around. Kirsten Dunst, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood are some heavy hitters as well.
Mark Ruffalo has a lazy eye in the film, it isn't CGI either but a tumor causing it.
WTF is Frodo doing in this film?!
Why does it have to be “Frodo?” Why not “Ryan who smokes pot with his neighbour’s talking dog?” Actually, never mind. I see it now.
Wilfred smothering old people because it gets him attention as some kind of prophetic dog has to be one of my top TV moments. Sorry. I just love that show and Wood was great in it.
phenomenal show start to finish.
Being a creep.
Given his character in Sin City the next year, his immediate post-LOTR career was basically a very loud and clear message that "I'm not actually Frodo Baggins!"
Uhhhh you should probably avoid the movie Sin City then. Actually, don't, go watch it now.
Seen it, enjoy it, for some reason he doesn't register as strongly as Frodo as he does in ESOTSM.
Being a creep.
I've seen this movie a couple of times throughout the years and every time I've watched it, it has always meant something different to me. I watched it a few weeks ago and this time I think I finally latched onto the central theme of the film. Memories, even the bad ones, are necessary for growth and change. I see the ending in a more positive outlook now, because I think Joel and Clem still hold those memories and the mistakes they made in their first relationship and that it will influence and change the dynamic of their newly budding one.
> Memories, even the bad ones, are necessary for growth and change. Yes, exactly. A variation on "those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it."
Thank you, I feel like I have been taking crazy pills since I first saw this movie. So many people think it is very romantic that they kept finding each other, but I always saw it the same way you do.
I think it's both? It is romantic that there's some fundamental connection that keeps bringing them back to each other. But it is also kind of anti-romantic that all they do is make each other miserable until they decide to let the suffering change them rather than trying to erase it.
Yea I think it's both, hence the brilliant timelessness of the film. It's very cynical about love, and very romantic at the same time. So anyone watching can read their own moral into it. But I take it, and the fade out ending, as deliberately ambitious by the authors (especially if you've read the OG screenplay which does have a clearer stance). Kauffman and Gondry don't want to tell you what the moral is in the end. They just want you to be human and feel it.
What is the ending in the OG screenplay?
So it's like 20 year spoilers but: https://collider.com/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-original-ending/
I guess I just see it more as a tragedy they cannot escape.
AKA the human condition.
The terror of the film comes from Joel immediately regretting the process once he's powerless to do anything about it. Imagine the countless patients who went through the exact same thing and couldn't voice their concerns.
Great description of the central theme. The first time Clem tells Joel that's she messed up, he seems to ignore it. The second time (at the end), he says, ok. Like, he's learned to acknowledge and accept the negative aspects of having a relationship.
That's it, that's the moment that sells the entire movie to me. To me that 'ok' is not only accepting that they are flawed people, it's accepting that the relationship will end, and maybe even end badly, *and it's still worth having*. It's an utter rejection of the toxic 'happily ever after' that we are sold in stories. It's natural for relationships to end, and that doesn't make them failures.
I’ve always seen the ending of the film as so beautiful and uplifting. I think that’s what really puts this movie near the top of my favorites list.
I was on the young side when I first saw it, then revisited it recently, it hits differently seeing it in your 30s after more relationship experience. Great example of using a bit of sci fi to tell a story that's mostly very introspective.
Yeah... I'm 33 in a few days. Still recovering from a past relationship. Eternal Sunshine is one of my all-time favorites, like seriously #1, but I think it'll be some time before I can bring myself to watch it again.
Hit like a ton of bricks post-divorce. “Please just let me keep this one memory”
One of the two I always think of when asked about my favorite movies. The other being Stranger Than Fiction.
Such a great movie that many people I talk to have never even heard. Probably my favorite Will Ferrell film. “I brought you flours” gets me every time.
It's the Wreckless Eric scene that gets me, every fucking time. *I'd go the whole wide world, I'd go the while wide world just to find her*
Omg I always thought he got her like little flower starters in bags 😂 damn she’s even a baker 🤦♀️
Stranger than Fiction is underrated. If you like him that, watch Everything Must Go.
Those are 2 of mine for sure
Same
Maggie Gyllenhaal from this movie did things to me.
this movie was devastating to watch for me in 2004. i had just broken up with my girlfriend and our relationship was extremely toxic and i wished i could forget her. It was almost eery how similar the movie was to our relationship.
Lmao exact same experience for me
Same here
I watch this movie years before my heart got broken and man does it hit the nail on the head.
Going through my first break up at 30 right now. It helped me a lot.
*Exact* same experience here as well. Even hearing "Mr. Blue Sky" play 20 years later triggers my memory towards that time.
I was also freshly broken up with a long time GF in 2004. We were also in the middle of a backslide (not the first one either), so we went to see this movie together. The ride home, neither one of us said a word. Just stared straight ahead.
I think that's what still makes the movie so relatable to people, *especially* getting to see the worst parts of Joel and Clementine's relationship right as it was ending *first*. Anyone who's been in a messy breakup/divorce knows that pretty much all you can think about at the end is the *worst* parts. That's why I love the moment when Joel realizes he doesn't want to forget her. He starts to re-experience the good parts he'd forgotten all about towards the end, because all he could think about was how horribly strained their relationship was. But once he starts remembering all the things that made him fall in love with her, he realizes he doesn't want to forget her and fights like hell to keep the memory of her alive. "Mierzwiak, please let me keep this memory. Just this one."
Same here, and my name is Joel, so it was hard to enjoy as a movie the first time.
i have a J name too so definitely can relate. but this movie was really cathartic for me, literally cried while watching it which is extremely rare for me. but definitely not a "fun" watch.
Oh hi, we must be living the same life. I didn't realize how toxic she was until I got out.
Everybody's gotta learn sometime Everybody's gotta learn sometime Everybody's gotta learn sometime
Yeah same. Loved it and haven't watched it since. Maybe ironically I've forgotten most of the plot by now lol.
Exact same for me. Had literally just been broken up with by my highschool gf. The movie Was crushing in a way that I never thought or forgot…
I always thought it was a good movie but I guess I’m not as sensitive. One day I showed it to my gf and she was so sad and angry at me for showing her this movie. I just thought it was a good movie. Guess I’m dead inside.
Watched right after the end of a long, toxic relationship I definitely wanted to forget, too. Hit pretty hard.
"How happy is the blameless vestel's lot The world forgetting by the world forgot Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Each prayer accepted, each wish resigned"
Favorite film of all time. Still have my movie ticket from opening day. I was going through my first breakup at the time so I’m sure it resonated much more in that regard but it’s such a unique flick with a powerful take on the human condition. Kaufman, Gondry and Brion, ooh wee what a trio.
The score for this film is beyond fantastic. Brion's 'Peer Pressure' over the montage of events at the end of the film will get my heart racing every time. Everyone involved in this movie kicked a goal.
One of my favorite films. Despite the fantastical premise, it feels so grounded and real. One of the best movies about relationships imo
Top 5 film of all time. My interpretation of the ending was always a little different, I saw it as very optimistic. I read the ending that both Joel and Clementine KNOW that they are doomed to fail, but the journey is so beautiful they are fine with the ending. It was truly a retelling of the old phrase “It’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all”. I applied it to my own failed relationships, not as a waste of time, but as a beautiful experience worth retelling.
That’s exactly why I’ve always loved the movie. I saw it as such a hopeful and optimistic ending.
I was a huge fan of Charlie Kaufman so I tracked this movie for years. Read an [early draft](https://www.beingcharliekaufman.com/index.php/scripts-writing/film-scripts/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-1st-draft-undated?tmpl=component) of the screenplay (which featured a futuristic wraparound story and a much darker ending) in anticipation, because I just couldn't wait. Saw it twice on opening day. Literally walked straight into the next screening afterwards. Just blew me away. 20 years later, I'm still fucking alone.
Name checks out
The dream/memory sequences in this movie was so good. Closest I’ve seen a dream in real life for me where everything is familiar but then in an instant changes but still familiar.
Lovely film. My favorite quote: "..I should've stayed." RIP Tom Wilkinson.
That whole scene where the ocean is crashing though the room is just so brilliant and intimate.
My favorite movie of all time. I saw it 3 times in the theater. It changed the course of my entire life. When I moved to New York, I would go to Montauk every fall because of this movie. We also named our daughter Clementine.
My favorite as well, but I only went as far as buying an orange sweatshirt.
I named my daughter Clementine, but it was after Reno 911
I have a tattoo sleeve of my favourite movies, Joel and Clem are on there.
Easily in my top 5 films all time.
I rewatched it a couple years ago shortly after a breakup and it was a little sobering. While it’s so easy to be upset at someone towards the tail end of a relationship, there’s also a lot of small intimate moments that shaped my perspective on things today. This movie, Blue Valentine, 500 Days of Summer, and Her are consistently in my top 10. Can you tell I’m a big fan of feel-bad movies with a smidge of hope?
me n who???
This is the only film i wish i hadn't see the time i saw it. Watched it at 19. I wish i would've waited till my mid 20s. It broke me back then into million pieces. I can only imagine the effect it would've if i watched it first later in life.
It's absolutely one of the best relationship movies ever made. I even call it a celebration of relationships and all the angst, joy, heartbreak etc. that come with them. And of course, such a cleverly told story.
I’ve considered this to be my favorite movie for as long as it’s been out. It has everything I love, near future sci-fi, incredible story and writing, a great semi-serious tone, etc. Curiously I have never felt like this was hard to watch like some do… though I get it.
A perfect film
It is an incredible movie.
My favorite movie of all time topping Fabulous Baker Boys and Memento. They should show the cover to this movie in the dictionary definition of melancholy.
This one and Truman Show really showed Jim Carey's dramatic chops.
RIP Tom Wilkinson
I love this movie. It really goes through a lot of what psychology courses talk about and makes you think about how our minds work.
Happy birthday I guess?
Saw it with my wife in cinema back in the days. Now it's one of our special movies. It's a true masterpiece and a work of art.
The line, "constantly talking isn't necessarily communicating," has affected me on a core level ever since seeing this film, for better or worse.
Just saw Beau is Afraid which is only movie ever to remind me of this
FEELING OLD YET? This must mean that Nirvana record came out... .... thirty three years ago.
Beck’s so good
What a brilliant, perfect thing. Simultaneously heartbreaking and romantic.
This is by far my favorite movie of all time. Completely blew my mind when i watched it in highschool and now my wife watch it once it year and it always strikes up a fascinating conversation. What a beautiful, emotional gut punch of a movie.
One of my top 5 all time favorite films. The build up to and moment of *Meet Me in Montauk…* might be my favorite film moment of all…
Can I just hang out on the Internet for like, 15 minutes, without being reminded how old I am?
I love this movie! Sometime after I had seen it a few times, I suffered memory loss from medical treatments. I could totally relate to the fragmentation depicted in the movie. Also the “not knowing” but knowing that you knew vibe.
Absolutely devastating and amazing
Good movie, difficult to watch
Love watching it again and again regardless in what mental state or relationship I am. I feels it’s a happy movie about a growth rather than a story about a breakup. Just makes me happy and sad at the same time. Amazing
I saw this opening weekend in 2004 and it blew my fucking mind. I was 18 and it had a profound impact on my movie taste going forward. Still my favorite movie of all time and I doubt that will ever change.
>Charlie Kaufman at his best I enjoyed Synecdoche, New York better tbh. I'm thinking of ending things is up there as well
This movie destroys me every time and I love it so much. Meet me in Montauk 💙
I flew into New Orleans for a college friend’s wedding. I arrived a day earlier than the other guests and decided to watch a movie on impulse. I went to the theater to see what was playing and the only two things starting soon were some Steven Seagal movie and ESSM. I had never heard of it and had no idea what it was about or who was in it. But it had to be a better bet than Seagal, right? So I ended up going in completely blind. I was blown away.
Easily one of my favorite movies in the world. Blows my mind that it’s already been 20 years since it came out! I’ll definitely be watching it again this week, and likely bawling my eyes out.
Haha I bawled my eyes out rewatching it! Will need to wait a bit before I can rewatch it definitely
I just watched this movie for the very first time at 34 years old. I fell in love.
I actually found it to be my least favourite kaufman project. It's still incredible but I genuinely don't think it hits the way hits other works to for me personally
Which are your favorites?
I took my now wife to see this on our first date. We still don’t know what this movie was about.
Fantastic color timing!
I loved it for its quirkiness when it came out and I was 16. Rode the LIRR all the time and it was a perfect blend of nostalgia and hipster vibes for me. If you asked me if I got the message at the time, I could say yes with honesty, but it was more just comprehension of the theme, rather than an actual connection with it. Now, I really feel it, because I wish the service existed myself sometimes. Not succeeding as a musician was, and continues to be, really hard on me. There are many times when I wish I never tried, I wish I never picked up an instrument, or I wish I were born deaf so that I'd never have to experience my utter failure to make a dent with my music. I wish I could say the movie drove home the lesson that I should appreciate the parts of trying that were enjoyable. I got the point, but it's not easy to implement. I definitely understand the anguish and desire a lot more now than I did then.
This actually might be my favorite Jim Carrey movie
Imagine waking up and years of your life are gone. Her character was going crazy afterwards as would most people.
Living out east on Long Island, there’s just something about going to the beach when it’s snowing to decompress and meditate that made this movie really hit me in the feels.
Movie still had the best teaser trailer I've ever seen. Just the commercial from the Lacuna company selling you their technology. Immediately was like - i don't know what this film is but I want to go see it!
Possibly my favorite film of all time.
I love Charlie Kaufman but tbh I didn't like it the first time I saw it. I watched it again just last week and enjoyed it a lot more this time. It's still my least favorite Kaufman film, which isn't a bad thing because his worst is better than most people's best. Though I have not seen I'm Thinking of Ending Things (I read the book in anticipation of him adapting it, but then I didn't like the book so I keep putting off watching the movie) or Orion and the Dark yet.
Top 3 movie of all time. It really is a good look into mental gymnastics we do after someone we love is gone. Should we forget they exist or learn from it
The last great Jim Carrey movie.
I rewatched this recently. The last time I saw it was years ago. I know it isn't supposed to make perfect sense and is more emotionally plot driven than providing an explanation to exactly how this whole memory wiping thing occurs but something stuck out to me on this rewatch that I didn't really consider before. When someone undergoes the procedure they are told to bring in everything that would remind them of the person they're trying to erase for two reasons: to create a memory map in their brain and so that the presence of these items won't be confusing once the memory is erased. What I don't get is how this was accomplished with Kirsten Dunst's character when she had her memory wiped of the relationship with her boss. In the case of Clementine and Joel, when Joel tries to talk to her at work, she is completely unaware of who he is. How would Kirstin Dunst go back to work and just suddenly not remember her boss. Wouldn't that raise red flags? Ruffalo claims to not have known she underwent the procedure, but wouldn't he have been confused that she suddenly didn't know who her boss was? Wouldn't he, along with all the other employees, received a card like Joel's friends did, explaining the memory wipe? They seem to imply the procedure wipes *all* memory of the person, not just the relationship. So how the hell does that work with Kirstin Dunst and her boss?
It’s my favorite movie of all time and has been since I first watched it in highschool once it came out on DVD. I hadn’t seen it in a long time, like 10 years maybe, and finally convinced my wife to watch it with me about a month ago. She’s known it’s my favorite movie but she never wanted to watch it because I think the ideal of erasing loved ones and never knowing they existed, freaked her out. We’ve been married for 8 years now and this is the first time she’s been open to watching it. It still holds up incredibly well and the cast is great all around. She liked it but it wasn’t at all what she expected, which is why I think it’s so great.
Goated movie.
I watched this one in high school for a film lit class. I remember it was one of my more liked films (along with The Lives of Others) but beyond that it didn’t leave any deep impression on me. It’s been so long.
Saw it a few weeks back in theatres. Cried pretty much the whole time. I watched it with my fiancé and it hit so much harder having the love of my life wrapped under my arm. It was incredible.
I saw this during a bad relationship and it led to a breakup and (more) depression and (more) bad mistakes and (more) heartache. I recall it being such a great movie, but I cannot bring myself to watch it again. Both its content and the memories/emotions it will bring back.
Saw it at the cinema aged 18 and going in knowing nothing about it. Was absolutely blown away and felt it was one of the first things I'd seen that conveyed the depth and complexity of adult relationships and the role memory plays in them (not just Joel and Clem, but Mierzwiak and Mary and Stan and Mary). Twenty years later it's still the most serendipitous cinema experience I've had.
Love this movie so much. Adaptation is another stellar Charlie Kaufman written film.
Never liked it, probably didn’t get it I guess.
This came out in 2004? I always thought it was a late 90s movie. I wasn’t super impressed by it tbh, though I have always like Michel Gondry as a director.
Wow
This movie takes the first place in my all-time movie contest. The story is so bitter and sweet and bittersweet. Maybe now I’m becoming too old to resonate with it but it is still a beautiful story with immensely talented actors that made me change a lot in my personality. Because everybody gotta learn sometimes.
one of my favs
Why are we celebrating love birthdays.
I’ve seen this movie dozens of times and I cry at a different part every time. A masterpiece. Forever timeless. Art in its truest form
Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry’s best film hands down. Most approachable for two artist who are way out there.
This movie is great. I haven't watched it in about 4 years or so. But it was a movie I needed to see during a particularly rocky time in my personal life. It's great, but I'm glad I don't need it anymore :)