oyceter | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Really very good. And I was expecting it to be good from everyone's comments, but I still did not expect the depth of my emotional involvement with the story or how hard it hit me.

Probably everyone knows now that it's about two lovers who decide to erase each other from their memories post-breakup. The structure really confused me at first, since it skips around timewise without any warning whatsoever -- the hardest part was figuring out when the outside structure sequences, focused on the Lacuna Inc. employees doing the erasing, took place.

I did not particularly like the outside structure until the final poignant payoff, and I was more confused than anything else by the outside world intruding on Joel's memories at first (overhearing conversations, etc.). I liked it much better when Joel grew more submerged in his memories, when he had figured out more what was going on.

And the more I watched, the more I invested I became in Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine, although part of me was kind of scared as well, because they sounded so much like the boy and me when we argue (I wonder, do all couples in the end argue in the same fashion? Just change the subject of the argument...). And it hurt when every memory was deleted, especially the one of them first meeting, and Joel's decision to change it.

I was thinking on the drive back on how much the movie horrified me on one level -- everyone keeps talking about a mindrape re: Angel's decision and Willow, and I agreed intellectually, but didn't quite get it emotionally. Now I do. I think I always did, it just took this to get it out. I cannot imagine making a decision to erase any of my memories; if anything, I would pay for a memory enhancing service. It disturbs me that already I can't remember exactly what my mice looked like, that I don't really remember Colorado, or the halls of NEHS. Everything is fuzzier. It's almost terrifying, pieces of yourself slipping away through your fingertips because of unused synapse paths, or whatever. It's particularly frightening for me because I place so much importance on my mind, on knowing things.

Who would I be without my memories?

The movie seems to embody the Santayana quote that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. In some cases, it might be good (I was rooting for Joel and Clementine). But there was just so much desperation in Joel attempting to keep the Clementine of his memories. And I wondered, how much of the Clementine in his memories was Clementine? If the people I know were suddenly replaced by people who acted only the way I thought they would in my mind, would I be able to tell the difference? There must be a sci-fi story on this somewhere.

And I have not even mentioned the really great performances of Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, who I thought of as Joel and Clementine through the movie because they were most decidedly not Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet.

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The tricky thing about this movie for me--and I did like it quite a bit--was the ending. Because on the one hand, uplifting and courageous and many good things, and on the other, oh, it hurt. Because it's that moment, that shining moment when you think to yourself "even if this ended badly it would be worth it, whatever pain this brings me will be worth it." And maybe it will, maybe it won't, but the thought of them having to regret that moment again... well, like I said, it hurt. I couldn't decide whether that was intentional or not. (I don't suppose it matters.)

Yeah.. and it hurt more for me because they couldn't really remember the old hurt, so they couldn't really know how much it hurt. And because they don't really remember what happened, so now they have no real way of circumventing it.

[issues-having] Argh! See? This is why ME has to deal with the mind wipe, and they're not set up to deal with it, because the gang is scattered--Gunn in hell with no memory at all, much less of Connor, Fred dead, Wesley off with Illyria. There needs to be a big angry confrontation scene and I don't know if we're going to get it! [/issues-having].

Must check out that movie soon.

I know!! That's what I was thinking the entire time during the movie.

I don't know if I want a big confrontation scene per se, but I want fallout. Big fallout. I can see people maybe even not confronting Angel over it and just shutting him out. Sigh. Fallout should have resonated throughout season six. Damn WB.

Well, rumor has it Joss is going to leave the season finale open-ended. 'Cause he's not done his story, and trying to wrap it up all happy considering all that has gone down in the season would be phony story-telling.

If you watched the series finale of "Roswell", you *know* what I mean.

Another rumor has it we might get a couple made-for-TV-movies.

hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray hope pray

Haven't read your comment yet, as I am miraculously unspoiled (very first time)!

Er.. I've read Joss's interview on the finale... any specific plot spoilers in your comment?

No plot point spoilers. I am unspoiled except for a general statement about the season finale I'm sure you read in Joss' interview, and those casting spoilers the WB gave away last week.

Unfortunately, never seen Roswell ...

I actually felt a bit hopeful about the prospect of an open-ended finale -- plus, he made it sound like the characters would be in a pretty bad place. I am intrigued ;).

And hoping and praying quite desperately for TV movies or miniseries or anything.

(btw, I love you icon!)

plus, he made it sound like the characters would be in a pretty bad place.

And how could they not be? Things are falling apart. Joss wants to write the story he intended to write when the season began, not make some phony happy ending up just because he's being cancelled by short-sighted executives.

'Roswell' dealt with a group of kids who were aliens. By the middle of season 3, they had been discovered by government/military officials who were coming after them. Then the show was cancelled. So the writers wrote an ending in which the kids and their human friends all piled in a van and starting driving all over the country staying one step ahead of the government/military. Excuuuuse me? I find it really implausible that they managed to drive around with no jobs and never get caught by the US military.

That's what Joss is trying to avoid. And kudos to him!

Thank goodness for no phony happy endings. Still on tenterhooks though -- I feel like spoilers would almost be reassuring at this point, but I am valiantly resisting the temptation.

I feel like spoilers would almost be reassuring at this point, but I am valiantly resisting the temptation.

I am fighting the same temptation. If I just KNEW what was going to happen, I wouldn't be sitting here worrying and brooding. Then I remind myself of last year at this time, when it seemed things were not going well for the character Connor, and I wanted to reassure myself that that feeling was mistaken, so I read some spoilers, found out Connor was being written off the show and VK would be replaced on the cast by James Marsters! Sorry if you're a Spike fan, but at the time, it was a deep stab in the gut with a twist of the knife for me. The character I loved was being replaced by one I had an active dislike for--and it seemed all because of fan pressure rather than story-telling necessity. I was livid.

No spoilers, no, no. That doesn't necessarily solve anything. And best case scenario, it will take the fun out of the good surprises.

yes! i heard (from tai, who watched it without me. humph!) that this movie was GOOD, and i really want to watch it. my memory is not the greatest, which is probably why i'm obsessed with taking snapshots of important events in my life and why i pore over old yearbooks whenever i get a chance.
(anlee)

It is! Hee, I should take snapshots of everything instead of begging them off friends. But I'm too lazy and my camera runs out of batteries all the times.

This is why I write so much in my LJ though.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

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