Film review- Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

The vast majority of stories, especially films, use what is called a linear storytelling format. This is where the events of the film happen in a chronological order, one after the other. This is the format most often used because it’s hard to get wrong, and for most stories is the best way of telling it. However, there is another, relatively unused format, which is non-linear. This is where the events aren’t taking place chronologically. The best example of this is a flashback, which is where the audience sees an event that happened in the past. This can go even further, where the audience doesn’t know for most of the film which event happens in the past, which happens in the present, and which happens in the future. This can be a very useful technique for some stories, the main example being ‘Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind’ where the non-linear format helps tell the story effectively.

To best understand how the use of non-linear aids in the storytelling in ‘Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind’, we should first get a better understanding of the story in it:

 After a fight, Joel Barish discovers that his girlfriend Clementine Kruczynski has had her memories of him erased by the New York City firm Lacuna. Heartbroken, he decides to undergo the same procedure. In preparation, he records a tape for Lacuna, recounting his memories of their volatile relationship. The Lacuna employees work on Joel's brain as he sleeps in his apartment so that he will wake up with no memory of the procedure. One employee, Patrick, leaves to see Clementine; since her procedure, he has been using Joel's and Clementine's memories as a guide for seducing her. While the procedure runs on Joel's brain, technician Stan and secretary Mary party and have sex. Joel re-experiences his memories of Clementine as they are erased, starting with their last fight. As he reaches earlier, happier memories, he realizes that he does not want to forget her. His mental projection of Clementine suggests that Joel hid her in memories that do not involve her. This halts the procedure, but Stan calls the Lacuna boss, Howard, who arrives and restarts it. Joel comes to his last remaining memory of Clementine: the day they first met, on a beach in Montauk. As the memory crumbles around them, Clementine tells Joel to meet her in Montauk. In Joel's apartment, while Stan is outside, Mary tells Howard she is in love with him and they kiss. Howard's wife arrives, and, from the street, sees them through the window. Furious, she tells Howard to tell Mary the truth: that Mary and Howard previously had an affair, and that Mary had her memories erased. Disgusted, Mary steals the Lacuna records and mails them to the patients, including Joel and Clementine. Joel wakes up, his memories of Clementine erased. He impulsively goes to Montauk and meets Clementine again on the train home. They are drawn to each other and go on a date to the frozen Charles River in Boston. Joel drives Clementine home and Patrick sees them, realizing they have found each other again. Joel and Clementine receive their Lacuna records and listen to their tapes. They are shocked by the bitter memories they had of each other, but agree to try again. (unknown, n.d.)

One of the core aspects of the film is memories and a procedure that removes them, which is why the use of Non-Linear storytelling is so excellent, as it helps give the audience a feeling of confusion and tension throughout the story that you wouldn’t get if you were to tell the story using a linear format. The use of a non-linear format gives the idea of jumbled memories, and creates a sense of unease in the audience that works very well with his memories being erased, and even more so as Joel realises he doesn’t want to go through the procedure anymore. As more and more of Joel’s memories are erased, the clips of each memory get shorter and the cuts are done a lot more abruptly, along with jumping around different periods of his life, which only adds to the sense of desperation as Joel tries to hold on to his memories of Clementine as much as he can, and eventually the feeling of hopelessness as Joel accepts that he is going to lose those memories of her, whether good or bad. The narrative wouldn’t have been anywhere near as effective if it had been a linear format, especially at conveying these certain emotions.

 

Works Cited

unknown, n.d. Wikipedia. [Online]
Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Sunshine_of_the_Spotless_Mind