Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of my favorite movies. In my heart (and many others'), it is a modern masterpiece. And not just because of Jim Carrey’s underappreciated performance and Kate Winslet’s mesmerizing acting. It’s a movie that’s breathtaking on multiple levels.
I have seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind many times, but I don’t believe I have watched it in nearly a decade. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this film, I decided to rewatch it. The beauty of complex cinema lies in its ability to offer new things to admire, appreciate, and analyze with each viewing.
Additionally, if a film means something to you, your reaction may differ depending on your place in life. The person I was when I first saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is not who I am now or was during other viewings. Therefore, I have experienced many different perspectives on it. This time, the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ending felt different.
I Knew The Ending Could Be Interpreted In Multiple Ways But I Chose To See It Positively
Many films have confusing conclusions, but I wouldn’t label the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ending as confusing but open for interpretation. The movie ends with Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) discovering that they erased their memories of each other. Then they hear some of the awful things they said about one another. The exes almost run far away from each other.
However, Joel and Clementine decide to try again, despite how it all ended. You can view that decision in many ways, but when I watched it again many years ago, I decided to interpret it romantically. Joel and Clementine loved each other so much, even without the memories, that they chose the hopeful path of trying again.
This decision was a grand romantic gesture. The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (in my mind) also leaned towards the idea of destiny. Fate would always bring them together, even with no memories. They also now have a clean slate and are free to approach their relationship without the baggage of the past. Though that’s definitely a reasonable way to analyze their end decision, I don’t think that’s the point of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
The point is the necessity of pain.
The Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind Ending Choice Isn’t What Matters
They should have never erased each other because they must experience the pain of this loss. Because they never worked through the heartbreak of the breakup, they’re stuck in a cycle that could end badly again. Heartbreak and pain can crush the soul and even cause depression, but these emotions are necessary for growth and healing.
Joel and Clementine have stopped their emotional growth and development by removing the ability to mourn the relationship. Additionally, their breakup was also not necessarily the end of their romance. Joel wanted to get back together. Therefore, they could have reconciled if Clementine didn’t erase him. However, in my opinion, they needed to break up and stay apart… at least for a while. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a romance movie where the breakup is just as important as the love story.
In Joel’s memories, we see him and Clementine constantly arguing and hurting each other by saying harsh things. Maybe they needed time apart to work on themselves before they could try again with each other or someone new.
Hopelessly romantic me of the past wants to believe that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind would end and Joel and Clementine would figure it out and stay together forever. But more logical, jaded me, knows that most likely it won’t end happily or last. A few things are working against them. The tapes in particular will likely haunt the pair. Unless they decide to burn them, if they listen, they will hear all the horrible things they thought and said about each other. This baggage could alter their new relationship. Their biggest insecurities would feel more present in the relationship.
Joel and Clementine have also become different people because of the removal of these memories. Who they are now might not work for them as a couple.
It Reminded Me How Important Memories Are To Identity
During this viewing of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I noticed more that the Joel and Clementine we meet at the beginning don’t completely match the ones we see through Joel’s memory. They are both more muted after they lose their memories. They aren’t as vibrant and passionate as their past selves. Joel seems sadder and Clementine seems unfocused. Losing these memories has turned them into different people.
You could write a thousand essays alone on the changing hair of Clementine. During most of her relationship with Joel, it’s different forms of red. After it, it becomes blue. Then when they first meet (his final memory of her), it’s green. The green could be a side-effect of the memories fading or her hair’s true color at the time. A way you can view it as the hair representing three different versions of Clementine (before, during, and after Joel).
Clementine naturally seems like a chameleon, so her personality may slightly change with every new hair color. However, the interesting thing about green-haired Clementine and the blue-haired version is that she should have returned to the green-haired one after her memories were erased.
Naturally, you would think she would revert to her pre-Joel self, but because her hair is blue, it could represent a new version that only exists because of the lost memories.
Because he tried to hide Clementine in them, we also know that Joel has lost some of his core memories. For example, during their initial encounter, he sings her the “Oh My Darling, Clementine” song. However, when they discuss it after his memory has been erased, he doesn’t know it. It was a song his mother used to sing to him.
Dr. Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) confirms that the surgery is a form of brain damage, so the change in personality makes some sense, but it also shows how memories are vital to our identity. For better or worse, they help shape our beliefs, behaviors, traditions, and attitudes. Losing important memories, or even small ones, can lead to vastly different personality traits.
Memories are critical to who we were, are, and become. That’s also why Joel and Clementine need to remember the love and pain of each other. They can’t be their true selves or develop further without them. They’re incomplete versions of their real selves without these memories.
This New Perspective On Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind Made Me Love The Film More
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has the type of storytelling I love: slightly otherworldly, a little melancholy, and a desire to understand humanity and all its contradictions and complexities. Rewatching the film made me appreciate it more. A film about the importance of pain to growth isn’t a new concept but Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind presents the idea grippingly and uniquely. Most people want to minimize the agony and hardship of life, and that’s a very reasonable and justified desire, but heartbreak can also inspire, teach, start revolutions and change, and spark necessary growth.
I know my new reading on the ending (which maybe I should have always seen) isn’t the only way to view it, and many before me had the same interpretation, but I am not certain my current reading of the ending will stay the same. I may rewatch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind decades from now and see it differently again. That’s the beauty of our bonds with movies: Our perspective matters as much as the story itself. As we evolve, our relationships with movies change as well.
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind remains one of my favorite movies and one of the best movies of the 2000s. I hope my perspective on the film constantly evolves as I age.
