I like to talk about movies.
To people who know me, that couldn’t be any more obvious.
But writing about movies has always been difficult for me. I thought about putting together a list of my favorite movies for the longest time, but ranking things you love is so difficult. Sure, I could probably come up with a top 10, 25, 50 or even 100 favorite films if I really tried, but that list would change from day to day.
So, recently I decided it would probably be best to just write about my favorite films. No list, just talk about the movies I love and why I love them.
With that being said, here’s a look at just one of my favorites.
“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004)
PLOT: After Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) break up, Joel finds out that Clementine had a new procedure done to remove him completely from her memories. So, Joel decides to do the same.
If I really did come up with a top 10 list, this movie would be in it for sure. I’ve had a long, weird experience with this movie that dates all the way back to the age of 12, when I first saw the trailer. It had Jim Carrey in it, and I was a huge fan of his at the time, and not only that, but it also had ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky” playing over it, and that’s long been one of my favorite songs. But, on top of all that, the trailer showed me a glimpse at what cinema could be that, at the age of 12, I had discovered yet: movies could be wholly original.
At that age, I had seen so many movies that had very basic premises or were based on pre-existing material (not that that’s a bad thing), but this showed something off the beaten path. I really wanted to see it. But, alas, it was rated R. Tough luck, 12-year-old Tyler (I turned 13 right around the time the movie actually came out, but it’s not like that really made it easier to see).
So, I sat on that urge to watch the movie for just over four years. Then, at the age of 17, I finally checked it out. I bought the movie without ever having seen it despite not having much money, just because I was that confident the movie would deliver. And it did in spades.
At the age of 17, the movie didn’t fully connect with me, but I knew it was special. I enjoyed it and thought it was drastically different from anything else I had seen before it, and on top of that, it was one of the first times where I really noticed how inventive a director could be. I watched the special features, listened to the commentary and took notes on just how they got some of the crazy visuals done. For example, there’s a scene where Jim Carrey plays a child in one of his memories, and they make his surroundings seem much bigger than him while making Kate Winslet look like she’s still the same size she always is. It wasn’t done using computers, but rather through camera trickery (and building some oversized props).
Then, a little over a year after I first watched the film, I dealt with my first big break-up, and this movie became a lot more important. I finally understood what it was like to be in a relationship, and this movie took on much more weight. I started to realize on my second viewing that “Eternal Sunshine” is one of the few movies about relationships to really get them right. By going through all of Joel’s memories with him in reverse order, we get to see the mix of awful and fantastic moments in their relationship. When they were together, they had their ups, downs and in-betweens. This movie, in its coverage of the relationship, blends comedy and drama so well that it feels more realistic than the standard romantic film. I think that’s in large part due to Charlie Kaufman’s script. If you haven’t seen any of the other films he wrote (“Adaptation,” “Anomalisa” and “Being John Malkovich” come to mind), then you should really get on that.
Since then, I’ve seen the movie a handful of other times, and each time, I’m floored by it. Director Michel Gondry showcases his talents with this film. Some of the highlights are the destruction of the beach house scene and the scene in the bathtub. Both are emotionally devastating, and with Gondry’s directing, what was probably done on a fairly small budget looks much bigger than it actually is.
One thing I should definitely bring up when talking about this movie is its impressive cast, led by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Both bring so much vulnerability and personality to their characters, and it’s not just them…. with a supporting cast that includes Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Tom Wilkinson, it’s difficult to not love the entire cast. And each of them shines in their roles.
“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is a movie I advise most people to see. Whether you’re going through a break-up or you just want to see something trippy, it’s a great film to watch. It’s easily one of my favorites, and, who knows? Maybe it could be one of yours, too… if you give it a chance.
Tyler Talks Movies 