Okay, wow. I really just felt like I had to talk about this somehow, somewhere, so here I am. I just watched this film for the first time ever, thanks to my Survey of American Film and Television class. I don’t know how I managed to avoid this movie for 14 years now, without anyone recommending it to me or even mentioning it to me. It was great seeing both Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in roles that were not the norm for them as actors, and to see them perform these roles extremely well.

Sorry if this is a bit of a mess, I’m really just vomiting words on here as I think of them. I was surprised by just how much I became invested in their relationship from the first few minutes all the way until the end. Jim Carrey, who is known for his iconic expressiveness on and off the big screen, takes on the role of a character who is both timid and awkward, which was really cool to see. I found myself actually relating to his character, Joel, quite a bit, which is probably a part of the reason this film has had such an effect on me in such a short time. Jim Carrey was great and all, but I’m not going to disregard how amazing Kate Winslet was in this film as well. She really was the perfect person to play Clementine, and she really gave a lot of life to the film as soon as she appeared on screen. Not only is she incredibly attractive and charismatic, but it was really cool to see how well she played a character out of the usual period pieces she is known for. I really couldn’t imagine anyone else playing either of these characters, and I loved the on-screen chemistry they shared.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what made me fall in love with this movie and these two characters’ relationship so quickly. I am really impressed with how daring the filmmakers were with Eternal Sunshine. It’s not like Joel and Clementine met and instantly started making out, then went right into a sex scene on the first day they met. The relationship felt so real and authentic. It was really refreshing. It blossoms from one awkward interaction into a super meaningful relationship that faces some turbulence which makes it all the more genuine. When watching the film, I had no idea there would be any sort of advanced technology in it like there was, so it really took me by surprise when we really saw the film shift in tone once this technology is introduced into this otherwise seemingly normal world.

This technology brings out a certain side of a relationship that we don’t get to otherwise observe, which I found really fascinating and powerful. I won’t go into too much detail in case you haven’t seen it yourself, but it really is something else.

So, I guess that’s it. I could go on and on about the great nuances of this film, just after seeing it once. But I’ve got to stop somewhere. There were some aspects of the film that paled in comparison to the rest, but I don’t really want to dwell on the negative. Overall, I was really touched by this film (and fell in love with Clementine). Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind might just be one of my favorite movies of all time now. Top 20 material at least. Maybe top 10. But I’m still in the honeymoon phase with it, so we’ll see how it comes out in the wash or whatever. What a great film!