The Distortion of Memory in Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

One of the masterpieces of Indie filmmaking, making us aware of the distortion of our memories... Through cinematography and editing!

"What a loss to spend that much time with someone, only to find out that she's a stranger."

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a 2004 American romantic science fiction comedy-drama directed by Michel Gondry and written by Charlie Kaufman. This movie is characterized by the elaborate and original use of artistic techniques, and the director had a pivotal role in giving a particular touch to mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound (Vernallis).

It is the story of Joel (Jim Carrey), a shy and soft-spoken man whose life is completely overturned when he starts dating the cheeky, free-spirited Clementine (Kate Winslet). However, their relationship is not among the healthiest, and after they break up, Joel is shocked to find out that, when he sees Clementine again, she does not recognize him. After finding out that Clementine has gone through a procedure that erased her memories of Joel, he decides to undergo the same operation. However, during the procedure, something goes wrong and Joel remains conscious. At first, he is glad to see that all of the negative moments of the relationship will soon be out of his head, but as he relives the sweetest memories together, he falls in love with her all over again. Unfortunately, nothing can stop the cruel indifference of the procedure, and he wakes up the next day with no memory of Clementine. However, driven by his instincts and by Clementine’s last words before being erased, he decides to take a train to Montauk, where he meets her again. When the couple is later driving back from Montauk, they receive two tapes, which they have recorded before erasing each other, and they understand that it is not the first time they have met. Driven by a new stream of faith, they decide to start their relationship again anyway. This movie is a wonderful example of what we actually remember of a relationship after a breakup, and of how wrong we are. Although there are some couples that simply do not work, people should not forget those moments that have once made them feel alive, for life is too short to deny true feelings, even if they are gone.

The last scene set in Joel’s mind, before he wakes up with no memory of Clementine, is the most effective example of this; as he realizes that it is too late to make up for his mistake, he apologizes to Clementine for not putting in the effort to stay and fix things, and for running away from her. He has let his negative feelings jeopardize the memories of the only person who had ever accepted him for what he was. The scene is situated right after the climax in which Joel and Clementine are trying to escape from the inhumane procedure that is taking her away. He goes back to the very first memory he has of Clementine, the day he met her. But that day as portrayed in Joel’s memory evolves in a very different way from how things went in reality: this time it is not a beginning, but an ending. At this point, all hope is lost, and the only thing that the couple can do is to give up, enjoy their last moments together as they witness everything they have built falling to pieces. As they walk around the house, Joel tells Clementine that he wishes he had stayed and, as the structure collapses and water rises to his knees, he admits that he still loves Clementine.

This message is conveyed in every artistic element of the scene, starting from the genre of the movie. The memory of their first encounter can be considered an upturning of the classical “meet cute” that characterizes romantic comedies. In this movie, the couple meets three times: once on the train coming back from Montauk, once on the beach (in reality) and then again on the beach, this time in Joel’s mind. The first two can actually be considered as examples of a “meet cute”, but the third one has a darker tone to it. As much as Joel enjoys meeting the outgoing Clementine once more, he knows that it will be the last time he experiences that memory. In the same day, the couple meets and says goodbye, going against the whole idea of the developing of a romance in a romantic comedy: it is not a new start, it is only the beginning of the end. According to Horton and Rapf, the movie wanted to play with the conventions of a romantic comedy, sometimes following them and, in moments like this one, parting from them.

However, the part in which the film’s message is most evident is without doubt the mise-en-scene. Clementine’s color of hair is symbolic throughout the movie. The green color of Clementine’s hair symbolizes a new beginning, the beginning of their love (Technical Critique of Eternal Sunshine) . The scene situated right after their first encounter is the last time the two will see each other, or at least before their second-first meeting. Also this time, the colors used are symbolic: their farewell is tinted in very bluish tones. Another really important element of mise-en-scene to consider is the house itself. This setting is pivotal to show how Joel is witnessing his memory as it fades away; in fact, as the protagonist and Clementine talk, the house around them is collapsing. Also, another interesting element of the setting is the snow that covers the house and the whole shore, which clashes against the usual warmth of the beach. It seems to show that the glacial personalities of the characters have managed to bring coldness inside their hearts, making everything around them frozen and sterile. Lastly, the use of the water that rises to his knees is another element of setting that symbolizes the fact that the couple is running out of time, and there are no more chances to go back.

Another important component in the analysis of this scene is the actors’ performances. There is a contrast between the two characters: on one side, Clementine, or better Joel’s mental reconstruction of Clementine, which is still holding on to their love and does not want to let go, still looking for solutions to this problem. On the other side, Joel, who is just looking around and smiling, as if he was trying to impress these last images in a memory that will soon be gone. He is always a shy character, but in this scene his minuscule use of words has another meaning, since he has decided to let go. Last, but definitely not the least, the lighting in this scene is absolutely groundbreaking. In the article Forget Me Not, the film’s director of photography Ellen Kuras talks about how the director wanted to shoot the whole picture only with the available light (Pavlus). Although this is already quite peculiar, this scene adds something more. As Joel sways around the rooms of the house, there is no light that directly originates from the place: the only light there is a big, obvious spotlight. Everything that this spotlight is illuminating is what is still in Joel’s perception and memory, and every element outside of it is either gone or uncertain, even the same Clementine. This spotlight really makes the viewer feel uncomfortable and rather asphyxiated. In the ending of the scene, according to the blogger thatnerdygirlsarah, “[w]hen Clementine returns to Joel for their goodbye, she walks down the stairs and into Joel’s spotlight—entering for the last time Joel’s perception of this past”. This last element in particular shows how the memory of Joel is being limited, and as he realizes that he regrets forgetting Clementine, his perception of her becomes dimmer and dimmer.

This idea that only the shown objects are the ones still in his memory is used not only in the mise-en-scene of the scene, but also in the cinematography. As Joel walks around the house, the shots of him or what he sees are very limited: they are all medium or close shots. The use of extreme long shots is limited to showing the house as it falls to pieces. We start the scene with medium-long shots that include him and Clementine, but the camera keeps getting closer and closer. The only exception to this is when Joel walks outside the house. For the first time in the scene, we see his entire body as he looks back. He comments “I walked out the door”, and it seems like Joel is looking at himself from outside, as if the collapsing house was his brain. He goes back to his rational mindset and understands that going back into the house makes no sense, since every hope of getting his memories back is lost. But when Clementine asks him to stay, Joel changes his mind and walks back in, and the shots get closer again. In the end of the scene, the camera is basically just framing their faces, and then only small details: that is all of Clementine that is left in Joel’s mind, and the scene fades as his memory is lost forever. Another element of cinematography that is really interesting to consider is that there is a shaky handheld camera throughout the scene, conveying the idea that Joel’s memory is unstable and unreliable. There is not the rationality of a stable camera because this moment does not leave space to reason, and his last memory of Clementine is composed by pure feelings.

The choices about the editing of the movie, done by both Gondry and the film editor Valdís Óskarsdóttir, could not be more brilliant. Once we understand that the mise-en-scene is fundamental to show that the couple is running out of time, and the cinematography wants to show how Clementine is being erased by Joel’s memory, the editing is pivotal in reminding us that what we are seeing is not real. Throughout the scene, there are many mismatches in action, most evident of which is the one in which Joel is walking around the living room, in front of a couch, as the water rises. In the next cut we see, he is sitting on the couch and gets up, but we never saw him actually sitting on the couch. This choice is not casual; it explains that there is no couch at all, that the whole scene is going on in his head. Also, there is an ellipsis of a few seconds in which, from standing in the living room, we see Joel walking outside the house and closing the door behind him. However, a consideration can be made on the issue that those two actions could be directly consecutive, since there is no real time, and these are all just dynamic thoughts in Joel’s mind. Another element that can be considered is that the rhythm of the scene, far from the one used in the climax of the film, in which the couple was running away from the computer, continuously slows down, as Clementine fades away and Joel gets ready to wake up.

Finally, the sound in the Meet Me in Montauk scene. The dialogue plays a pivotal role, since it is the element that mostly shows that Joel is sorry, and he realizes that he has distorted his own memories just because the relationship was not seeming to work out. Towards the middle-end of the scene, Clementine comments “I wish you had stayed”, to which Joel answers “I wish I had stayed too, now I wish I had stayed. I wish I had done a lot of things… I wish I had stayed. I do”. He has nothing left to do if not to sigh, about what will his life be without this amazing person, about how stupid and impulsive he has been. Before the end, the couple keeps conversing about what could have been done better. Clementine asks “Was it something I said?”, and Joel replies “Yeah. You said ‘so go’, with such disdain, you know”. His mental construction of his lover, however, is trying to throw one last idea at him, when she asks “What if you stayed this time?”. But Joel has to soon realize that there is no way back from what he has decided, so he just comments “I walked out the door. There’s no memory left”. Before the scene ends and Joel wakes up, he pronounces his last, desperate words to Clementine: “I love you”. The scene ends with Clementine’s words “Meet me in Montauk”, and these words are the only things that will remain in Joel’s head, bringing him to the cold beach where he will meet her again.

Other elements of sound that deserve to be considered are the general noises and the music. As Joel talks to Clementine, we can hear glasses as they clink and break, the waves as they flood the house and the sound of bricks from the collapsing house. All these noises convey the idea that everything is falling apart, that the level of entropy of the scene will never reverse, and that for Joel and Clementine time is running out. Also, the music conveys a really sentimental tone to the dialogue between the characters. Spotting in right after her words “So go”, an acoustic piano solo evolves into a mix of piano, electric piano and strings. The music then stops when Clementine asks Joel to stay, and then spots back in when he walks back inside the house, to say goodbye to his lover. The music is emotional, and it involves the viewer into Joel’s sadness as he sees Clementine for the last time. This scene plays a pivotal role in the movie, since it is the end of their relationship but it also represents the origin of Joel’s apparently unjustified need to take a train to Montauk.

All of these considerations convey an idea: now that they have followed their impulsiveness and erased each other, are they really free like they initially thought they would be? Clementine is definitely not, since her dating Patrick just keeps on reminding her of someone else, but she cannot remember who. As for Joel, he definitely was not happy to witness the erasing of Clementine. Through the procedure, he got rid of his memories about his unfortunate relationship, but his lover’s last words have created a new feeling in him, that brings him to Montauk once again. According to Wael’s article Film Analysis: ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, “[y]ou may forget a past memory but you can’t forget the impulses, instincts and emotions that arose from that past incident. They are in some sense untouchable because they shape who we are”, and this is exactly what Goldry is conveying. Although Joel originally thought he was happy to erase Clementine, his realization of how much he wanted to preserve some memories has evolved over the cancellation. So, to answer the question earlier, they are not free. There is no sunshine in having a spotless mind. Although Joel has distorted the mental image he had of Clementine, he could not erase the feelings that have brought him to her in the first place, and that end up bringing this bizarre, blue-haired woman back in his life. The movie ends with them running on the beach again and again, happy and forgetful, as their memories constantly build up, collapse and build up again, but their feelings remain. Works Cited Horton, Andrew, and Joanna E. Rapf. “Part III New Perspectives on Romantic Comedy and Masculinity.” Companion to Film Comedy (1), Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. Book. Pavlus, John. “Forget Me Not.” American Cinematographer, Apr. 2004, pp. 1–3, www.theasc.com/magazine/april04/cover/index.html. Accessed 23 Apr. 2017. Magazine article. “Technical Critique of ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Diving into the Silver Screen, 13 Apr. 2010, filmfanatic88.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/technical-critique-of-eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017. Online source. Thatnerdygirlsarah. “Illuminating Memories: Lighting Techniques in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Thatnerdygirlsarah, 15 Dec. 2015, thatnerdygirlsarah.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/illuminating-memories-lighting-techniques-in-eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017. Online source. Vernallis, Carol. "Music, Video, Songs, Sound: Experience, Technique and Emotion in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Screen, xlix.3 (2008): 277-297. Academic journal article. Wael, Khairy. “Film Analysis: ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.’” The Cinephile Fix, 1 Sept. 2013, cinephilefix.com/2012/11/17/film-analysis-eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017. Online source.