Bobby's English Assignment #1

[never-too-cold.livejournal.com]

Ms Munroe,

Hope this is okay.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a movie about relationships and forgetting. The main couple, Joel and Clementine, meet for what they think is the first time on a Long Island Rail Road train and are immediately drawn to each other. In actuality, they were once in a relationship, but after two years and a fight, Clementine left Joel’s apartment and had all her memories of him erased by the Lacuna company. When he found out, Joel spitefully decided to undergo the procedure himself, but as his memories of her were being erased, he realised he did not want to let go of her at all. He tries to figure out how to resist the erasing procedure and preserve some memory of his love.

I believe this is one of the most romantic movies I have seen because it is realistic, despite the futuristic idea of memory wiping. By re-living in reverse all the memories of the relationship, Joel remembers exactly why he fell in love with Clementine in the first place. Remembering the good times amongst all the arguments and problems can give a relationship worth and value. The movie reminds me that sometimes letting go is not the answer, and sometimes forgetting can hurt.

In the end, Clementine and Joel discover the nature of their first relationship, and decide that they cannot pursue it again, now that they know what it is like. But the last scene is of them playing in the snow at the place they first met, and it loops several times, leaving viewers unsure of whether the scene is of a memory of their first meeting, or a meeting after their memories were erased. This suggests that maybe Joel and Clementine became stuck in a cycle of meeting, falling in love, breaking up, having their memories erased, and meeting again.

I think the ending is also very romantic, though sad. It shows that it is possible for two people to truly belong together, even if staying together doesn’t seem like the right or best thing to do. Love can be messy, beautiful, painful, old and fresh all at the same time.

The film expresses that love can be something you want to remember. And love can be something you’d rather forget.

- Bobby