Holy Crap. I have no idea what I just saw. But I think I like it. I’m not sure though. I’m not sure I’m sure of anything. But I am sure that writer Charlie Kauffman has surpassed both Being John Malkovich and Adaptation in terms of depth, creativity and a flat out trip session in a script. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is just as non-linear as Memento and even more surreal.

The idea behind the story is a machine that can erase specific memories. After a broken relationship, Joel (Jim Carrey) discovers that Clementine (Kate Winslet) has had him erased from her memory, and so he decides he wants her erased from his. The majority of the rest of the film follows Joel’s mind as his memories of Clementine are progressively erased from his memory.

What makes things interesting is that halfway through the process, Joel decides he wants to keep his memories of Clementine after all, and struggles to save his memories while they are being deleted. Meanwhile, the memory engineers (Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood) struggle to find Joel’s hidden memories and delete them.

I’m not sure what Kaufman wants us to get out of this. In fact, I’m not sure he wants us to get anything out of it at all. On the surface, it doesn’t seem like he does. But there’s clearly something lurking beneath the ice here. It could be about the nature of our memories, desire in relationships, or the way we perceive the world, but there are a few things that I picked up that I especially like.

***Spoilers***

Throughout the backward run of Joel’s memories, we get a side story that, I believe, is a thematic parallel for Joel’s story. Mary (Kristen Dunst), a secretary for Lacuna, Inc., the company that does this memory erasing, falls in love (for some strange reason) with the company president, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson). That’s right, Tom Wilkinson. Anyway, after desiring to have an affair with the married man, she later discovers they already have and that she has had the memory erased. Thus, she repeats her mistake because she never learned from it the first time. She doesn’t remember.

I think the same idea is pulled through Joel and Clementine’s story. At the end of the film, both Joel and Clementine realize the mistakes they made the first time would be bound to happen again because…well, there are two possible interpretations of why they their previous mistakes would be bound to happen again.

One says they are bound to make the same mistakes because they are bound by their nature or “who they are”. Evidence for this interpretation lies in the fact that they have the tapes which have recorded all of their frustrations with the relationship. Through these tapes they will learn that the relationship will not work.

Another interpretation suggests they are bound to make the same mistakes because they haven’t learned from them. Perhaps the tapes will serve as starting ground for introspection, change, and a new relationship.

I hope the latter’s the case. And the parallel story with Mary and Howard seems to suggest that it is. But it’s hard to tell. The film ends with Joel and Clementine’s relationship up in the air. We don’t know whether they’re going to stay together or not.

I want to believe that they will. Maybe it’s because I don’t like the idea that we’re bound by our nature, that we can’t change. Either way, it’s clear that, though it may sound like a good idea at times, we don’t want to erase or forget our memories – no matter how bad they are. Joel learns throughout the film that he wants to keep his memories, even if they do hurt.

The title of the film comes from an Alexander Pope poem called, “Eloisa to Abelard”

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd;

The intentional equivocation of “spotless” on the part of Kaufman raises an interesting theological issue. Clearly it’s not the lack of guilt and negativity in our minds that brings us peace. Therefore, it must be the confidence gained through the knowledge of a clear conscience. Thus, peace can only be obtained through experience. Experience and expiation.

Going further along this line, Eternal Sunshine makes it clear why the Atonement of Christ is necessary. The memory eraser at Lacuna failed because it was a false atonement. Christ’s Atonement completely forgives while leaving a complete and full recollection of the past. The Atonement allows us to obtain peace through its dual nature of absolution coupled with a provision of understanding of our mistakes, why they were wrong, and how to avoid them in the future.

Another theme, though less clear, is certainly there. Throughout Joel and Clementine’s relationship, problems arise whenever they’re selfish or proud. And both of these characters are. Both are largely self-centered and constantly preoccupied with what’s going to make “me” happy. The presence of the other is merely to satisfy the self. It’s no wonder their relationship fails.

Interestingly enough, for a large part of the film, Clementine isn’t playing herself, but Joel’s perception of her in his memory. When she’s in Joel’s mind, she is preoccupied with his needs (specifically those of hiding the memory of her in a place where the tracking system won’t find them). While Clementine is purely within Joel’s mind, the relationship goes well. Until, of course, they both return to reality.

I think it’s reasonable to believe that, in the end, they’ve learned that selfishness has destroyed their relationship, and that they’re failure to recognize their problems (through memory deletion) has kept them from moving forward. Furthermore, I think it’s reasonable to believe that, if we pay attention to the script, we can learn the same thing.

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