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# Bit of ‘Sunshine’ brightens the day
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/bit-of-sunshine-brightens-the-day/
- Published: 2004-03-19T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:02:49.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Entertainment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

Once in a great while a film comes along with which it’s difficult to find any fault. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is just such a movie. Written by the ingenious Charlie Kaufman (“Being John Malkovich,” “Adaptation”), with deft direction from music video auteur Michel Gondry (who previously collaborated with the author on “Human Nature”), this reality-bending bizarro dramedy is the magnum opus of the filmmakers, as well as stars Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Though lost memories are central to the nonlinear narrative of “Eternal Sunshine,” it’s a safe bet all of the aforementioned talent will be fondly recalled when it comes time to hand out award nominations next year. What they have collectively wrought is a quasi-surrealist gem in the spirit of Godard that will no doubt leave audiences breathless.

Opinions vary on how Carrey has fared in previous dramatic turns, but here he is unequivocally magnificent as Joel Barish, an introverted working stiff suffering from a wicked case of the blues … or perhaps “the grays” is more apropos given the film’s plaintively washed-out mien. After he discovers that his prismatic, nonconformist girlfriend Clementine (an equally brilliant Winslet) has had all evidence of their tumultuous relationship scientifically erased from her memory bank, Joel contracts Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) to have his mnemonic slate wiped clean of Clementine. But as the doctor’s quirky support team (Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Kirsten Dunst) progressively zap episodes from his past, Joel rediscovers his passion for Clementine and attempts to thwart the procedure by hiding with her inside memories that predate their first meeting.

This Kaufman-esque contrivance may sound convoluted, but the message it was designed to convey is simple and delivered with absolute clarity: We are what we’ve experienced, and to lose our past is to lose ourselves. Joel doesn’t truly realize what he and Clementine had ’til it’s literally almost gone, and his desperate struggle to hold on to her is alternately sweet and hilarious, and profoundly moving. (Rated R for language, some drug and sexual content. Running time: 108 minutes)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/031904-13_01.jpg)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 19, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/031904.pdf?ref=smdp.com)