Though they’ve forgotten about each other, they remain drawn to each other. There are great visual paradoxes when Clementine walks down a street only to appear to return right where she began, like an urban Penrose staircase, or the Eldritchian version of Patrick (Elijah Wood, “Wilfred”), the man using knowledge of Joel’s memories to seduce Clementine, in a comatose nightmare sequence where, no matter how many times Joel turns him around, he never sees his face.īut Kaufman’s portrayal of these inherent contradictions of the human condition isn’t just about the body horror of these faceless creatures in Joel’s dreams - it’s the way that Joel and Clementine are cosmically magnetized to each other. If the sentimentality doesn’t get you, the cinematography will. After two years of love, they erase each other through a procedure that takes about as long as it might take you to finally block your ex’s number. With no memory of Clementine, he meets his ex-girlfriend as if they are strangers, leaving a disconnect between their bodies and minds. That’s the paradox that really matters, not the non-linear storytelling that begins the day after Joel has already had his memory erased. It’s a science-fiction version of the universal fear that you can spend so much time in love with someone only to end up as strangers. The most painful moment for Joel wasn’t just the sight of Clementine walking out his door, but the moment when she acts like she has never (because, in her current consciousness, she hasn’t) met him before.
![clementine eternal sunshine clementine eternal sunshine](http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Eternal-Sunshine-eternal-sunshine-151463_700_1068.jpg)
The film follows Joel as he regrets trying to erase her, and they both eventually realize that even with all of their baggage, they’re willing to give their relationship one more shot.Įven the mind-bending science-fiction angle of the film feels like something grounded in reality - who hasn’t ever wished they could, like Joel and Clementine, be strapped to an examination table and have your heartbreak surgically removed? Clementine went to a special medical clinic to have her memory of Joel erased from her brain, and, upon discovering this, Joel does the same to his memory of Clementine.
![clementine eternal sunshine clementine eternal sunshine](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b8/15/16/b81516941ee02812817d967934414e55.jpg)
After spending a night together, the film abruptly cuts to what we’ll eventually realize is a flashback to when Clementine and Joel broke up, shortly before the opening of the film. Joel is enamoured by Clementine’s boldness - the way that she invites him, a stranger, into the intimacy of her life and apartment. “Eternal Sunshine” begins with Joel meeting Clementine (Kate Winslet, “Titanic”) on an impulsive day trip to Montauk.