Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox film
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a 2004 American surrealist science fiction romantic drama film directed by Michel Gondry and written by Charlie Kaufman from a story by Gondry, Kaufman, and Pierre Bismuth. Starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, with supporting roles from Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Tom Wilkinson, the film follows two individuals who undergo a memory erasure procedure to forget each other after the dissolution of their romantic relationship. The title of the film is a quotation from the 1717 poem Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope. It uses elements of psychological drama and science fiction and a nonlinear narrative to explore the nature of memory and love.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind opened in theaters in the United States on March 19, 2004, to widespread acclaim from critics and audiences, who praised the visual style, editing, writing, score, themes, direction and performances, especially of Carrey and Winslet. The film was a box office success, grossing $74 million on a $20 million budget, and was named by the American Film Institute one of the Top 10 Films of 2004.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the 77th Academy Awards, Bismuth, Gondry and Kaufman won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and Winslet received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
The film has been named by several publications as one of the greatest of the 21st century and gained a cult following.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="dargis">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":A. V. Club">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was the inspiration behind several music projects, such as Jay Electronica's 2007 piece "Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge)", Jhené Aiko's 2014 track "Spotless Mind" and Ariana Grande's 2024 album Eternal Sunshine.
Plot
Joel Barish discovers that his estranged girlfriend, Clementine Kruczynski, has undergone a procedure to have her memories of him erased by the suburban Long Island firm Lacuna. Heartbroken, he decides to undergo the same procedure. In preparation, he records a tape recounting his memories of their volatile relationship.
The Lacuna employees work on Joel's brain as he sleeps in his apartment so that he will wake up with no memory of the procedure. One employee, Patrick, leaves to see Clementine; since her procedure, he has been using Clementine's memories of Joel as a guide to seduce her. While the procedure runs on Joel's brain, the technician, Stan, and the secretary, Mary, take drugs, party, and have sex.
Joel re-experiences his memories of Clementine in reverse chronological order as they are erased, starting with their last fight. As he reaches earlier, happier memories, he realizes that he does not want to forget her. His mental projection of Clementine suggests that he hides her in memories that do not involve her. This halts the procedure, but Stan calls his boss, Howard, who arrives and restarts it. Joel comes to his last remaining memory of Clementine: the day they first met, on a beach in Montauk. As the memory crumbles around them, Clementine tells Joel to meet her in Montauk.
In Joel's apartment, Mary tries to impress Howard through their mutual interest in poetry by reciting a verse from Eloisa to Abelard. While Stan is outside, she tells Howard she is in love with him and they kiss. Howard's wife arrives and sees them through the window. Enraged, she tells Howard to tell Mary the truth: Mary and Howard had previously had an affair, and Mary had her memories of it erased. Disgusted, Mary steals the Lacuna records and mails them to the patients, including Joel and Clementine.
Joel wakes up on Valentine's Day with his memories of Clementine erased. He impulsively takes the Long Island Rail Road to Montauk and calls in sick to work. He accidentally meets Clementine on the train ride home; they are drawn to one another, and go on a date to the frozen Charles River in Boston. Joel drives Clementine home and Patrick sees the two of them, realizing they have found each other again. Joel and Clementine receive their Lacuna records from Mary and listen to their tapes together. They are shocked by the bitter memories they had of each other and almost separate again, but agree to try again.
Cast
- Jim Carrey as Joel Barish: A bookish introvert who enters a two-year relationship with Clementine Kruczynski. After their relationship ends, Clementine erases Joel from her memory, and he erases her from his mind in response. Charlie Kaufman depicted Joel with some of his own personality traits.<ref name="dvdtalk-kaufman" /> Producers cast Carrey against type for his role as Joel,<ref name="dvdtalk-kaufman" /> selecting him for his everyday appearance, as well as his comedic ability. According to Gondry, this was because "It's hard to be funny. It's far easier to take someone really funny and bring them down than do the opposite."<ref name="thedailybeast">Template:Cite web</ref> To induce Carrey, an actor who typically portrayed high-energy roles, to portray a restrained character, Gondry would not allow him to improvise, a restriction he did not place on the other cast members (Carrey objected).<ref name="Placa">Template:Cite web</ref> Gondry also put Carrey off balance by giving misleading orders or by rolling the camera at the wrong time. Gondry believed this would make Carrey forget what he should do to be Joel, allowing him to go in character.<ref name="dvdtalk-kaufman" /> In the 2017 Netflix documentary Jim & Andy, Carrey mentions a conversation with Gondry one year before shooting began for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, shortly after Carrey had a breakup with an unspecified woman.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gondry saw that Carrey's emotional state at the time was "so beautiful, so broken" that he asked him to stay that way for one year to fit the character. In the documentary, Carrey commented, "That's how fucked up this business is."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Nicolas Cage was Gondry's original choice to play Joel,<ref name="Placa" /> but Cage was unavailable as he was in high demand from independent directors after his performance in Leaving Las Vegas.<ref name="thedailybeast" />
- Kate Winslet as Clementine Kruczynski: A spontaneous extrovert who, after breaking up with him after a two-year relationship, erases Joel Barish from her mind. Producers cast Winslet against type for her part as Clementine,<ref name="dvdtalk-kaufman" /> as Winslet had previously featured heavily in period pieces.<ref name="thoughtco-winslet">Template:Cite web</ref> She received the role after she was the only actress to offer criticism on the script instead of pandering to the writers.<ref name="thedailybeast" /> After another actress won an Oscar, the studio attempted to make Gondry use her instead of Winslet for the role of Clementine, but Gondry threatened to walk from the project if that occurred.<ref name="thedailybeast" /> During filming, Gondry took Winslet to a separate room to coach her,<ref name="thedailybeast" /> and she wore wigs instead of dyeing her hair.<ref name="thoughtco-winslet" /> Some commentators note how Clementine's character criticizes the Manic Pixie Dream Girl stock character several years before film critic Nathan Rabin coined the phrase.<ref name="vanityfair15-resonates">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Most commentators discuss one particular example to demonstrate this criticism, wherein Clementine warns Joel she is flawed: "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."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> With her impulsiveness, emotional intensity (extreme mood changes), alcohol consumption, turbulent relationships, reckless behavior, and hasty idealization or devaluation of Joel, Clementine seems to exhibit traits of borderline personality disorder, although it is not clear whether Kaufman wrote her character with this specific diagnosis in mind.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gondry had earlier thought of casting Björk for the role of Clementine. She feared she would be emotionally affected and rejected the invitation after reading the script.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Winona Ryder also met with Gondry for the role.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Kirsten Dunst as Mary Svevo: The receptionist for Lacuna who, while dating Stan Fink, has a crush on Howard Mierzwiak. While erasing Joel's memory, Howard's wife catches her kissing Howard. Howard's wife reveals Mary previously had a relationship with Howard, which Howard erased from her mind. She reacts to this information by quitting her job and mailing Lacuna's company records to its customers. In the script, Mary and Howard's relationship resulted in an unplanned pregnancy, leading to Howard pressuring Mary into an abortion, which Howard also erased from her memory.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Mark Ruffalo as Stan Fink: A technician for Lacuna who is in a relationship with Mary Svevo until the reveal of her previous relationship with Howard Mierzwiak. Ruffalo received the role of Stan after providing an "unexpected take on the role" to Gondry when he suggested Stan be a fan of the Clash and resemble Joe Strummer.<ref name="thedailybeast" />
- Elijah Wood as Patrick Wertz: Patrick is a technician for Lacuna who enters a relationship with Clementine by imitating Joel. They break up when Joel and Clementine begin dating for the second time. Seth Rogen auditioned for the role.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Tom Wilkinson as Dr. Howard Mierzwiak: Howard runs Lacuna. Before the film's events, he had an affair with Mary, which ended with the relationship's erasure from her mind. Wilkinson reportedly did not enjoy the shooting of the film and clashed with Gondry.<ref name="thedailybeast" /><ref name="thedailybeast-ruffalo">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Jane Adams as Carrie Eakin: Joel's female friend. She is in a troubled relationship with Rob Eakin.
- David Cross as Rob Eakin: Joel's friend. In a troubled relationship with Carrie Eakin.
- Deirdre O'Connell as Hollis Mierzwiak: Howard's wife
- Debbon Ayer as Mrs. Barish: Joel's mother
- Thomas Jay Ryan as Frank: Joel Barish's neighbor
- Ellen Pompeo as Naomi, Joel's girlfriend (deleted scene)
Production
Development
The concept of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind came from conversations between director Michel Gondry and co-writer Pierre Bismuth in 1998.<ref name="scriptmag">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The pair had met and become friends in the early 1980s during Gondry's drumming career in the French pop group Oui Oui.<ref name="guardian-lack">Template:Cite news</ref> Bismuth had conceived of the idea of erasing certain people from people's minds in response to a friend complaining about her boyfriend; when he asked her if she would erase that boyfriend from her memory, she said yes.<ref name="guardian-lack" /><ref name="Cinephilia">Template:Cite web</ref> Bismuth originally planned to conduct an art experiment involving sending cards to people saying someone they knew had erased the card's recipient from their memory.<ref name="dazeddigital">Template:Cite web</ref> When he mentioned this to Gondry, they developed it into a story based on the situations that would arise if it were scientifically possible.<ref name="guardian-lack" /><ref name="dazeddigital" /> Bismuth never carried out his experiment.<ref name="dazeddigital" />
Gondry approached writer Charlie Kaufman with this concept,<ref name="Cinephilia" /><ref name="dazeddigital" /> and they developed it into a short pitch.<ref name="Tobias">Template:Cite news</ref> While the writers did not believe the concept was marketable, a small bidding war began over the idea.<ref name="scriptmag" /><ref name="Tobias" /><ref name="vulture">Template:Cite web</ref> Steve Golin of Propaganda Films purchased it on June 12, 1998, for a low seven-figure sum.<ref name="dvdtalk-kaufman">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Kaufman, who was responsible for writing the screenplay, did not begin immediately, instead opting to suspend writing while he was working on Adaptation, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Human Nature, the last of which Gondry directed as his directorial debut.<ref name="scriptmag" />
During this time, filmmaker Christopher Nolan released Memento (2000), which similarly deals with memory. Due to the similarities, Kaufman became worried and tried to pull out of the project, but Golin made him complete it.<ref name="dvdtalk-kaufman" /> During writing, the pitch's ownership changed several times resulting in Kaufman not having to deal with the studios until the end of the scriptwriting process.<ref name="scriptmag" /> The final script made the studios nervous.<ref name="scriptmag" />
Kaufman did not want to make the film a thriller and wanted to downplay the science fiction aspects of memory erasure, focusing on the relationship.<ref name="scriptmag" /><ref name="dazeddigital" /><ref name="vulture" /> He had an "enormous struggle" while writing the script, particularly encountering two problems: showing "the memories, Joel's reactions to the memories, and Joel interacting with Clementine outside of the memories in the memories," and the fact that characters could refer in later scenes to already erased memories.<ref name="scriptmag" />
Kaufman resolved the first problem by making Joel lucid and able to comment on his memories and solved the second by making the memories degrade instead of immediately erasing, with complete erasure occurring at awakening.<ref name="scriptmag" /> Kaufman's original name for the screenplay was 18 words long, as he had wanted a title that "you couldn't possibly fit on a marquee."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He eventually decided on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a title originating from the 1717 poem Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Alain Resnais's Je t'aime, je t'aime (1968) has been cited as an influence on the film.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Filming and post-production
The shooting of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind began in mid-January 2003 after six weeks of preparation,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Pavlus">Template:Cite journal</ref> lasting for three months on a budget of $20 million mostly in and around New York City.<ref name="Placa" /><ref name="Pavlus" /> The film was shot on Fuji Reala 500D.<ref name=Pavlus/> The production crew recreated some key scenes, such as Joel's Rockville Centre apartment and the 1950s-style kitchen, in a New Jersey former U.S. Navy base.<ref name="Pavlus" /> The shoot was difficult, sometimes shooting for 17 hours per day in harsh environments.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The shoot was challenging for cinematographer Ellen Kuras, due to the difficulty of filming Gondry's vision, which aimed to "blend location-shoot authenticity with unpredictable flashes of whimsy". Gondry wanted available light used exclusively for the shoot. Kuras disagreed and worked around this idea by lighting the room instead of the actors and by hiding light bulbs around the set to increase light levels.<ref name="Pavlus" /> Another issue the cinematographers encountered was that due to the frequent improvisation, the lack of marks and the few rehearsals completed, the cinematographers often did not know where the actors would be. Two handheld cameras filmed near 360-degree footage at all times, shooting 36,000 feet of film a day to deal with this.<ref name="thedailybeast-ruffalo" /><ref name="Pavlus" /> Gondry called back to the work of French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard by filming using wheelchairs as well as using sled and chariot dollies instead of traditional dollies. When using wheelchairs, the shot was not consistently smooth; however, as Kuras liked the aesthetic of the low-angle, wobbly movement, the final film contains the footage.<ref name="Pavlus" />
The film used minimal CGI, with many effects accomplished in-camera through forced perspectives, hidden space, spotlighting, unsynchronized sound, split focus and continuity editing.<ref name="dazeddigital" /> A notable example is the ocean washing away the house in Montauk; the production team accomplished this by building the corner of a house on the beach and allowing the tide to rise.<ref name="Placa" /> Executing this effect was difficult, as the special team hired to place the set in the water refused due to perceived dangers. In response, Gondry fired the team and had the production team, including the actors and producers, place the set in the water. In retaliation for Gondry's actions, the chief of the union reprimanded Gondry in front of the crew.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Kaufman rewrote some of the script during production; thus, several differences exist between the production script and the final film.<ref name="Tobias" /> A fundamental difference is that in the production script, with the erasure of each memory, Clementine's behavior is increasingly robotic.<ref name="scriptmag" /> In the final film, Winslet plays Clementine straight, and degradation of settings and the intrusion of settings upon each other establish memory degradation visually. Another script component that did not make it into the final film was the appearance of Naomi, Joel's girlfriend, played by Ellen Pompeo. Against Kaufman's insistence on Naomi's inclusion, the production team cut her already filmed scenes.<ref name="scriptmag" /> Tracy Morgan was also cut from the film.<ref name="vanityfair15-carrey-gondry">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In one version of the script, Kaufman began the story 50 years in the future. An old woman who turns out to be Mary tries to drop off a bulky manuscript at a publishing house, but the publisher declines her offer. We later learn that the manuscript contains all of the memories that Lacuna had erased from its patients. This version of the film ends with an elderly Clementine once again erasing Joel.<ref>Charlie Kaufman, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: The shooting script, Introduction by Michel Gondry, Interview of Kaufman, by Rob Feld (New York: Newmarket Press, 2004), 142.</ref>
Valdís Óskarsdóttir edited the film, and she reportedly clashed with Gondry during editing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kaufman was also very involved in the editing of the film, which was a longer process as there was little time constraint.<ref name="dvdtalk-kaufman" /><ref name="Tobias" /> There were a few test screenings of the film, which elicited positive reactions.<ref name="Tobias" />
Music
The soundtrack for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was composed by Jon Brion, also featuring songs from artists including the Polyphonic Spree, the Willowz and Don Nelson. Hollywood Records released the soundtrack in March 2004.<ref name="businesswire">Template:Cite web</ref> A cover version of the Korgis' "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" with instrumentation by Brion and vocals by Beck operates as the soundtrack's centerpiece, setting the film's tone in the opening credits, and closing the film.<ref name="businesswire" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindTemplate:'s soundtrack received generally positive reviews. AllMusic described Brion's score as "intimate" and "evocative of love and memories".<ref name="allmusic">Template:Cite web</ref> Other positive reviews noted the ambient nature of the music and lauded Beck's cover of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime".<ref name="pitchfork">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The soundtrack's detractors criticized the album's lack of identity and its depressive atmosphere.<ref name="filmtracks">Template:Cite web</ref> Even among the detractors, the score's ability to mesh with the plot was lauded, an appraisal common to many reviews.<ref name="allmusic" /><ref name="pitchfork" /><ref name="filmtracks" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Analysis
Template:Expand section Author Carol Vernallis, writing in Screen, argued that Gondry's experience in directing music videos contributed to the film's mise-en-scène and sound design. Vernallis describes some threads of the visual, aural, and musical motifs throughout the film, and how some motifs can work in counterpoint.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Philosopher Christopher Grau, in The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, discussed how he perceived the film to have its own defined philosophy, beyond addressing ideas of a philosophical nature.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has been aligned with a greater inspection, distinctly related to the 21st century, of memory, longing and nostalgia in science fiction films like Code 46 and 2046. The film showcases memory as fragmented and unreliable, evident by its non-linear structure.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Release
Marketing
For promotion, a website for the fictional company Lacuna was made in 2003, which included a spoof advertisement.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> An official trailer for the film was released in 2004. The trailer was edited in a more comedic style than the movie itself, which may have misled viewers about the tone of the film.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Box office
Template:Expand section Produced on a budget of $20 million, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind opened on March 19, 2004, in the United States, earning $8.2 million in its opening weekend from 1,353 theaters. The film placed seventh in the weekend's box office, and remained in theaters for 19 weeks, earning $34.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $39.6 million in international markets, for a total of $74 million worldwide.<ref name="BOM">Template:Cite web</ref>
Although screenwriter Kaufman was told the film had not generated a profit,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> it remains his most commercially successful work, grossing more than twice as much as Adaptation (2002) and over three times as much as Being John Malkovich (1999).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Home media
| Format | Location | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| VHS | U.S. | September 28, 2004<ref name="NUM" /> |
| DVD | U.S. | September 28, 2004<ref name="NUM">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| HD DVD | U.S. | April 24, 2007<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Blu-ray | U.S. | January 25, 2011<ref>Template:Citation</ref> |
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was released on VHS and DVD by Universal Studios Home Video on September 28, 2004,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> selling a combined total of over 600,000 units on the first day.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Among the add-ons included were deleted scenes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It debuted at number 11 on the VHS rental chart,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> as well as number three on the DVD sales chart.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
A two-disc Collector's Edition was later released on January 4, 2005.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was later released on HD DVD on April 24, 2007,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and on Blu-ray on January 25, 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On July 26, 2022, Kino Lorber Studio Classics released Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This release included a new color grading supervised by cinematographer Ellen Kuras.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has an approval rating of 92% based on 255 reviews, with an average score of 8.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Propelled by Charlie Kaufman's smart, imaginative script and Michel Gondry's equally daring directorial touch, Eternal Sunshine is a twisty yet heartfelt look at relationships and heartache."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On Metacritic, the film has a score of 89 out of 100, based on 41 reviews.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.<ref name="CinemaScore">Template:Cite web</ref>
Roger Ebert wrote: "Despite jumping through the deliberately disorienting hoops of its story, Eternal Sunshine has an emotional center, and that's what makes it work. Although Joel and Clementine ping-pong through various stages of romance and reality, what remains constant is the human need for love and companionship, and the human compulsion to keep seeking it, despite all odds."<ref name="Ebert">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2010, he added it to his "Great Movies" canon, writing "The wisdom in Eternal Sunshine is how it illuminates the way memory interacts with love. We more readily recall pleasure than pain. From the hospital I remember laughing nurses and not sleepless nights. A drunk remembers the good times better than the hangovers. A failed political candidate remembers the applause. An unsuccessful romantic lover remembers the times when it worked."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A. O. Scott praised it as "cerebral, formally and conceptually complicated, dense with literary allusions and as unabashedly romantic as any movie you'll ever see".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Time Out concluded: "the formidable Gondry/Kaufman/Carrey/Winslet axis works marvel after marvel in expressing the bewildering beauty and existential horror of being trapped inside one's own addled mind, and in allegorising the self-preserving amnesia of a broken but hopeful heart".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Winslet and Carrey received widespread praise for their performances. Winslet received multiple award nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress,<ref name="oscars" /> a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role<ref name="BAFTA" /> and a Golden Globe Award nomination.<ref name="HFPA" /> Premiere placed her performance 81st in their 2008 list of the 100 Greatest Performances of All Time.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Claudia Puig wrote: "Winslet is wonderful as a free spirit whose hair color changes along with her moods. She hasn't had such a meaty role in a while, and she plays it just right".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ann Hornaday, in The Washington Post, said "Even when forced to wear costumes and wigs that make her look like Pippi Longstocking after an acid-fueled trip to the thrift market, Winslet maintains a reassuring equilibrium. It takes an actor of her steadiness to play someone this unhinged."<ref name="Hornaday">Template:Cite news</ref>
Carrey also received multiple award nominations, including a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role<ref name="BAFTA" /> and a Golden Globe nomination.<ref name="HFPA" /> Many reviewers noted his casting against type. Jason Killingsworth wrote: "Carrey nails the part, winning audience sympathy from the opening moments of the film".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Moira MacDonald in The Seattle Times stated "[Jim Carrey is] not bad at all — in fact, it's the most honest, vulnerable work he's ever done",<ref name="Macdonald">Template:Cite web</ref> while David Edelstein of Slate said "It's rarely a compliment when I refer to an actor as "straitjacketed", but the straitjacketing of Jim Carrey is fiercely poignant. You see all that manic comic energy imprisoned in this ordinary man, with the anarchism peeking out and trying to find a way to express itself."<ref name="Edelstein">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The supporting cast also received acclaim, with several reviewers, including Hornaday and Rick Groen of The Globe and Mail singling out Ruffalo's performance for praise.<ref name="Hornaday" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Critics praised Kaufman, and he won numerous awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay.<ref name="oscars" /><ref name="bafta" /> In Slate, David Edelstein claimed Kaufman had "move[d] the boundary posts of romantic comedy,"<ref name="Edelstein" /> and Moira MacDonald of The Seattle Times called Kaufman "one of the few creative screenwriters working today."<ref name="Macdonald" /> John Powers of the LA Weekly said Eternal Sunshine lacked "genuine human passion" behind its "postmodernism tricks",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Andrew Sarris of The Observer criticized the"nonexistent character development".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Gondry received praise, with Hornaday writing "the results [of Gondry using primarily in-camera effects], in their intricate detail and execution" as "nothing short of brilliant".<ref name="Hornaday" /> The Seattle Times in their review stated "Gondry ... makes it all a melancholy fun house, with camera work and visual tricks that rival the screenplay in invention".<ref name="Macdonald" /> Cinematographer Ellen Kuras received praise for her work on the film; in an overall negative review, Stephanie Zacharek of Salon praised Kuras for giving "the movie a look of dreamy urgency that's perfect for the story".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Accolades
Legacy
Eternal Sunshine has continued to receive acclaim in the decades after its release. In 2017, The New York Times named it one of the greatest films of the 21st Century so far: "Charlie Kaufman's writing has the perfect equipoise of cynicism and sensitivity, and finds a perfect correlative in the director Michel Gondry's whimsical ingenuity. The only thing better than seeing it again would be wiping it from your memory and rediscovering it for the first time."<ref name="dargis" /> Ross Douthat included it on his list, calling it "The most complete and accessible and moving Charlie Kaufman movie".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The A. V. Club placed it first on its list of the best films of the 2000s, writing: "Though Kaufman is hardly a purely cerebral writer, his philosophical inquiries find an added emotional weight under Gondry's direction. Portraying the fading and flaring of love in gargantuan bookstores and on railway lines, Gondry captures a moment that's quintessentially of the 21st century, and yet timeless ... It's the rare film that shows us who we are now and who we're likely, for better or worse, forever to be."<ref name=":A. V. Club" />
Music
The film has had a lasting influence on musicians across genres and countries. American singer-songwriter Halsey sampled dialogue from the film in her song "Ashley", the opening track of her 2020 album Manic,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and titled the following track, "Clementine", after Kate Winslet's character, drawing lyrical inspiration from her as well.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Similarly, American post-hardcore band Circa Survive referenced the film both directly and indirectly in their lyrics on their 2005 debut album Juturna,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> which primarily explores lead singer Anthony Green's struggles with addiction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The film's score, composed by Jon Brion, has also inspired many artists. American rapper and producer Jay Electronica sampled five tracks from Brion's score for his 2007 debut mixtape Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge),<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> while American rapper and record producer Mac Miller incorporated one of the tracks into his 2013 song "The Quest."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
American singer-songwriter Jhené Aiko cited the film as an inspiration for two songs, "Eternal Sunshine" and "Spotless Mind", featured on her 2014 debut album Souled Out.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In South Korea, singer-songwriter Taeyeon drew from the film's themes for the music video of her 2020 EP title track, "What Do I Call You",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and rapper B.I credited the movie as the inspiration behind his 2022 song "Tangerine," from Love or Loved Part.1.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2024, American singer-songwriter Ariana Grande named her seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, after the film. Her music videos for the singles "Yes, And?" and "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)", along with the rest of the album and the short film Brighter Days Ahead (2025), include numerous references to the movie.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="shortfilmrelease">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Video games
Kan Gao, founder of Freebird Games, said his video game To the Moon, which is about two doctors traversing the memory of an old man to fulfill his last wish, was inspired by the film.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Media recognition
| Year | Presenter | Title | Rank | Template:Ref heading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Writers Guild of America | 101 Greatest Screenplays | 24 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2008 | Empire | The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time | 73 | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
| 2009 | Time Out New York | The TONY Top 50 Movies of the Decade | 3 | <ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> |
| Slant Magazine | The 100 Best Films of the Aughts | 86 | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | |
| Paste | The 50 Best Movies of the Decade (2000–2009) | 5 | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | |
| The A.V. Club | The Best Films of the '00s | 1 | <ref name=":A. V. Club"/> | |
| Metacritic | Film Critics Pick the Best Movies of the Decade | 2 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2016 | BBC | The 21st Century's 100 Greatest Films | 6 | <ref name="bbc100">Template:Cite news</ref> |
| 2018 | Empire | The 100 Greatest Movies | 41 | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
| They Shoot Pictures Don't They | The 21st Century's Most Acclaimed Films | 13 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2022 | Sight and Sound | Directors' 100 Greatest Films of All Time | 99 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2025 | The New York Times | 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century | 7 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century (Readers' Choice) | 9 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| Rolling Stone | 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century | 17 | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
See also
References
External links
- Template:Official website
- Template:IMDb title
- Template:Metacritic film
- Template:Rotten Tomatoes
- Template:AFI film
- Template:TCMDb title
- Lacuna Inc., promotional website for the film
Template:Michel Gondry Template:Charlie Kaufman Template:Navboxes Template:Subject bar Template:Authority control
- Pages with broken file links
- 2004 films
- 2004 independent films
- 2004 romantic drama films
- 2004 science fiction films
- 2000s American films
- 2000s English-language films
- 2000s psychological drama films
- 2000s science fiction drama films
- 2000s science fiction romance films
- American independent films
- American mad scientist films
- American nonlinear narrative films
- American psychological drama films
- American romantic drama films
- American science fiction drama films
- American science fiction romance films
- Anonymous Content films
- BAFTA winners (films)
- English-language independent films
- English-language romantic drama films
- English-language science fiction drama films
- English-language science fiction romance films
- Existentialist films
- Films about disability in the United States
- Films about memory erasure and alteration
- Films directed by Michel Gondry
- Films produced by Steve Golin
- Films scored by Jon Brion
- Films set in Manhattan
- Films set on Long Island
- Films shot in New Jersey
- Films shot in New York (state)
- Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award
- Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay BAFTA Award
- Films with screenplays by Charlie Kaufman
- Focus Features films
- Hard science fiction films
- Postmodern films
- Saturn Award–winning films