Movie Club: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

[shred]

I chose this as this DVD has been sitting on my shelf for ages and I haven't touched it. The first time I saw it was on TV and I loved it. Always been meaning to watch it again though. So I thought it would be a good excuse to finally watch it again. ;D

A couple undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories when their relationship turns sour, but it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with. Starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo and Kirsten Dunst.[/b]

[Bre]

Good choice Irene! I'm going to use my Eternal Sunshine set. ;D

[Beck]

I've never seen it but I have heard it is good so I look forward to seeing it

[shred]

Hopefully, I'll find the time to watch this! Maybe tonight or the next weeked.

Jul 25, 2010 15:05:39 GMT 10 Bre said:

Good choice Irene! I'm going to use my Eternal Sunshine set. ;D

Aw, now I'm tempted to make one myself but I've got no PS at the moment.

[Beck]

Saw this last night. I don't know why it is billed as a comedy, it has a couple of funny moments but it is in no way a comedy movie

I have previously not watched this as I hate Jim Carrey but he was well suited to the role as was Kate Winslet. I was a little confused at the start, not realising that the opening scene happened and then we went to how they got to that point.

Some parts were incredibly sad. I liked how they showed all the bad parts of the relationship that he wanted to erase first, before leading to the good parts of the relationship that he realised he wanted to cling on to. I loved their little attempts to "hide" from the memories so that she couldn't be erased completely.

Out of the dreams I found the other characters to be a bit boring until it was revealed Mary's mind had been erased. I am not sure I agree with her suddenly taking a moral ground on the whole procedures after she learned she had CHOSEN to have her memories wiped. It was unfair on all the past clients to send those tapes, look how much it messed with Clementine and Joel. These people chose to have someone erased, showing them that later would mess with their heads majorly. I do think it is wrong what the clinic does - but everyone went in by choice. Whether they do or would regret it, Mary knows how much it hurt her and screwed with her head to relearn about it all

I found it sweet that even after it all Clementine and Joel managed to find each other and share a connection. Makes you wonder that they really do belong together if that can happen after they had memories of each other erased.

Elijah Wood's character was horrible by the way. What a dickhead

[Shaun]

He is meant to be a dickhead It has been awhile since I have seen it, and my DVDs are all away but I'll try and rewatch it at the end of the month.

[Loz]

I have no idea where my DVD is at all. Went looking for it and its just not there Will get someone else's.

[Bre]

I left my DVD with my dad since it's fullscreen, but netflix has the widescreen version, so I'll watch it again one of these days. I wrote an essay (a damn good essay, I must say!) last semester about the philosophy behind the characters in this film and another one, so it is definitely a movie I love and have a lot to say about. ;D

[shred]

As a first time watcher of the movie, Beck, did you like it? How would you rate the movie?

[Loz]

Aug 6, 2010 10:43:15 GMT 10 Bre said:

I left my DVD with my dad since it's fullscreen, but netflix has the widescreen version, so I'll watch it again one of these days. I wrote an essay (a damn good essay, I must say!) last semester about the philosophy behind the characters in this film and another one, so it is definitely a movie I love and have a lot to say about. ;D

Post the essay mate

[Beck]

Aug 6, 2010 18:46:39 GMT 10 shred said:

As a first time watcher of the movie, Beck, did you like it? How would you rate the movie?

I enjoyed it. I don't know if I would want to watch it again anytime soon but it was a solid 8 movie imo.

[Bre]

Aug 7, 2010 13:04:52 GMT 10 Loz said:

Aug 6, 2010 10:43:15 GMT 10 Bre said:

I left my DVD with my dad since it's fullscreen, but netflix has the widescreen version, so I'll watch it again one of these days. I wrote an essay (a damn good essay, I must say!) last semester about the philosophy behind the characters in this film and another one, so it is definitely a movie I love and have a lot to say about. ;D

Post the essay mate

Maybe I will. My professor didn't give me one goddamn comment on it (got an A, but still!). I worked hard on that paper (kind of ..) .. so maybe you guys can give me some feedback!

[Lizzie]

We will!

I will try to watch this. I've seen it before, and didn't really like it. I'll try to give it another go.

[Beck]

No one else has anything to say or watched it yet?

[Bre]

It's only the 7th of the month! I'll watch it this weekend, since I have off.

And by the 7th I mean the 9th.

[shred]

I meant to watch it last weekend but there was another movie on TV that I wanted to watch.

Maybe this weekend.

[Beck]

Middle of the month guys If you have seen it before what were your thoughts on it? Any comments on the thoughts I posted?

[Bre]

OK. I haven't re-watched it, but I will say it is one of my, I don't know, top 20 favorite movies. It gave me a LOT more respect for Jim Carrey and just reinforced my love for Kate Winslet. To hold things over until someone else posts, I attached my essay I was talking about earlier in the thread.

If you don't want to read it, a couple of the questions I asked were:

After the characters’ memories are erased, has their personal identity changed?

and

They decide to have their memories erased. Is this justified? When things go wrong in life, is it OK for someone, given the technology is available, to have bits of the brains erased?

Not in the essay, but ..

Would you choose to have your memory erased?? (It's kind of similar to the "Dollhouse" discussions, I think)

Attachments:

[shred]

Watched it last night! ;D

I was a little confused about the movie when I watched it the first time. But a lot of things made sense now after watching it the second time. It made me love the movie even more too.

I love Jim Carrey in this. I find him quite annoying when he does his usual comedy movies, as he tends to go overboard with his humour. This movie just shows that maybe he should reconsider comedy and do something dramatic. And Kate Winslet was a breath of fresh air in this movie. I always see her in a serious role so it was really refreshing for her to play the fun-loving, implusive Clementine.

And I do wonder, though, as the movie went on, what Joel and Clementine see in each other as they seem to be complete opposite of each other.

I like how the memories were erased backwards - from breakup to the first meeting. When couples split, they tend to focus on the negatives in their failing relationships. Typically a string of bad experiences led them to the break-up point, so those unpleasant memories remain fresh in the mind. So it not only makes the story interesting but it also makes sense when Joel decides to change his mind (literally!) about the wiping - he rather keep the good memories than lose everything.

One thing that bugged me though was Clementine's reasons for wiping Joel for her memory. It just doesn't seem strong enough to justify the procedure. But then again, she is implusive (as said by MANY characters in the movie - as if to convince me. ) so I guess it makes sense in a way.

As for Mary, I don't think she should have released the tapes either. Like Beck said, the patients chose to have their memories erased so she has no right to send them those tapes. She knew well enough how it was feel to suddenly realise what you did so you would think she would think about that when she decided to release the tapes.

Now, I don't know whether Joel and Clementine meeting again is due to fate and the fact they meant to be together or the fact that you can't erase feelings and attractions even with the memories gone. The same thing happened with Mary. She was still attracted to Howard even with her memories of him erased. Just makes me wonder.

Overally, it's definitely a great movie and one of my top 10s. 9/10

[Beck]

Aug 17, 2010 8:07:04 GMT 10 shred said:

I love Jim Carrey in this. I find him quite annoying when he does his usual comedy movies, as he tends to go overboard with his humour. This movie just shows that maybe he should reconsider comedy and do something dramatic. And Kate Winslet was a breath of fresh air in this movie. I always see her in a serious role so it was really refreshing for her to play the fun-loving, implusive Clementine.

I agree, I usually avoid Jim Carrey movies because his roles are always similar and I hate his comedy movies. I quite liked him in this and I was glad to see him in a character role I didn't hate. I wasn't a big fan of Clementine's character but I did like Kate Winslet's acting.

And I do wonder, though, as the movie went on, what Joel and Clementine see in each other as they seem to be complete opposite of each other.

Opposites often attract

I like how the memories were erased backwards - from breakup to the first meeting. When couples split, they tend to focus on the negatives in their failing relationships. Typically a string of bad experiences led them to the break-up point, so those unpleasant memories remain fresh in the mind. So it not only makes the story interesting but it also makes sense when Joel decides to change his mind (literally!) about the wiping - he rather keep the good memories than lose everything.

Me too, that was done well. At the start it is like OMG what a horrible relationship, then the nice and sweet parts started to come through.

One thing that bugged me though was Clementine's reasons for wiping Joel for her memory. It just doesn't seem strong enough to justify the procedure. But then again, she is implusive (as said by MANY characters in the movie - as if to convince me. ) so I guess it makes sense in a way.

They did push that a bit much, I also found it made no sense.

As for Mary, I don't think she should have released the tapes either. Like Beck said, the patients chose to have their memories erased so she has no right to send them those tapes. She knew well enough how it was feel to suddenly realise what you did so you would think she would think about that when she decided to release the tapes.

Yep.

Now, I don't know whether Joel and Clementine meeting again is due to fate and the fact they meant to be together or the fact that you can't erase feelings and attractions even with the memories gone. The same thing happened with Mary. She was still attracted to Howard even with her memories of him erased. Just makes me wonder.

But him doing a totally not him thing and jumping on the train, makes me feel fate They may never have met again otherwise.

Overally, it's definitely a great movie and one of my top 10s. 9/10

Huh, really? I enjoyed it but not enough to call it a favourite.