46 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

It's happened to most of us, having our heart broken by a relationship we'd rather forget. But really, as time goes on we really don't intend to want to forget everything. All relationships have good and bad memories, and even though we all deny it most of the time, we do indulge ourselves sometimes of the good memories. And why not? It's just like picking a tape or disc from your shelf and playing it for a while...to relive a scene. And once you've had your fill, you place it back in the shelf and go on with your life. Sadly, some people are unable to do that, and the scene continues to play in their head...and soon enough their life is consumed by it. Can you imagine how it would be if the chosen memory was a bad one?

I really hated Elijah Wood's character in the first few scenes that revealed he was capitalizing on Jim Carrey's character and memories to woo Clementine. But alas, life will set things right, and the effort turns out to be a losing one. We have the ability to play other people, but we are only as good as who we are...so as Fi would say...keep with yourself.

Jim Carrey's performance was really good and it's sad to see him be continuously underrated despite his efforts in this film (though some critics have finally taken notice).

The premise of this movie reminds me of a scene from one of the Star Trek movies where Captain Kirk (William Shatner) confronts Spock's half-brother-turned-charismatic-cult-leader who has the ability to release people from their emotional pains. Being the next target for his cause, Kirk fights back, "No! Pain is what makes us who we are! I need my pain!"

The pressure of pain. How does it affect us? Remember in The Devil's Advocate, where Al Pacino's character stressed the effect on Keanu Reeves, "...pressure...some people fold...some focus...."

How does the pressure of pain affect you?

Would you really pay to get some memories removed? Isn't your brain already capable of doing a similar task? I enjoyed Tom Wilkinson's explanation of the procedure when Jim Carrey's Joel Barish asked if it might give him brain damage."Well, the procedure really is some form of brain damage, but rather similar to the effects of a heavy dose of drinking."