🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 101 (from laksa011)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa101.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.story24.film/story/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.story24.film/story/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind","crawl_time":1776158999,"first_indexed_time":1636872932,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"film,story24!www,\/story\/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind s443","src_root_hash":"12231351947185700101","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind story circle and story analysis","meta_descriptions":["Story circle, outline, plot summary, and analysis of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry"],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind\nWhat's it like inside Charlie Kaufman's head? You have to wonder. It's not as if he doesn't continually open it up on the page—literally or metaphorically, I'm honestly not sure which. There's the door into\nMalkovich\n, the running down of memories in Eternal Sunshine, the replicated lives of\nSynecdoche\n, the self-reflective autobiographical fantasy of\nAdaptation\n. He does it again, or variations of it—whatever\nit\nis—in\nAnomalisa\n, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and even his novel\nAntkind\n.\nIt's a fascinating place. I wouldn't want to live there.\nEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind\ntells the story of Joel Barish, whose girlfriend Clementine Kruczynski has had him erased from her memory. In response to being erased, Joel has the same procedure performed on himself to remove his own memories of Clementine. The bulk of the story takes place within Joel's head as old memories are erased one by one and as Joel changes his mind and starts fighting back against the process.\nStory Circle\n|\nOutline View\nThe nature of this thing is to be a fragmented, non-linear jumble that jumps back and forth between disordered memories and the present, with interventions from Joel's subconscious as it tries to rewrite its world.\nThe story does give us some natural break points that we can consider as a traditional three-act structure, although the first and especially the third acts are shorter than usual. The first act begins with a lengthy future-as-prologue segment that chronologically takes place in the aftermath of the procedure, and which is revisited in the third act. The second act is the procedure itself, which breaks neatly into two parts at the moment Joel decides he wants to call the whole thing off.\nThe neat trick that gets played here is that we see memories as they are erased in reverse chronological order, starting with the most ugly ones of a relationship well into its toxic phase. But as these most recent memories are lost, Joel falls more and more back in love with Clementine until that one perfect moment on the frozen Charles. This leads to an even more chaotic second half as Joel and Clementine zig and zag through his own mind, trying to hide in his childhood and in his deepest humiliation and shame.\nThat’s such a Charlie Kaufman thing to do.\nOf course director Michel Gondry also played a big part in the magic of Eternal Sunshine, and he gets a story credit as well. The practical effects and clever production design go a long way to bringing to life the chaotic dreamscape of the story, which shifts seamlessly from place to place, from reality to memory to imagination, from anger and confusion and despair to self-awareness and forgiveness and even love.\nJoel and Clementine are deeply flawed characters. She can be charming and vivacious, but she’s also volatile and easily offended. Her reliance on alcohol does her no favors. Joel has an intelligence that can cross the line into arrogance, and also an innate cowardice that prevents him from fully committing to the relationship or even to life. They’re perfect for each other, if only they could get it right. It’s also easy to argue that their relationship is doomed from the start, and probably from the restart as well.\nThe story is masterful in its characterizations and in giving these people well earned arcs. It's not just Joel and Clementine, but also Patrick and Stan and Howard and Mary who all have to deal with the repercussions of the technology and what they've done with it, and what a mess it's made of their lives. It's Mary, in fact, who seems like a relatively inconsequential character at first, who gets the big late twist that puts the exclamation point on what a bad idea this fancy new technology is.\nThe heart of the story, though, is Joel and Clementine, and rooting for them to fall back in love, whether that's a good idea or not. Lots of credit here goes to Kate Winslet and Jim Carey for making such difficult people so appealing.\nINT. BARNES AND NOBLE BOOKSTORE - NIGHT\n[...]\nCLEMENTINE\nLook, man, I'm telling you right off the bat, I'm high maintenance.  So I'm not going to tiptoe around your marriage or whatever it is you got going there.  If you want to be with me, you're with me.\nJOEL\nOkay.\nCLEMENTINE\nSo make your domestic decisions and maybe we'll talk again.\nShe goes back to stacking.  Joel stands there helplessly.\nJOEL\nI just think that you have some kind of ... quality that seems really important to me.\nThe scene is disintegrating. Clementine's speech is delivered without passion.\nCLEMENTINE\nJoel, I'm not a concept.  I want you to  just keep that in your head.  Too many guys think I'm a concept or I complete them or I'm going to make them alive, but I'm just a fucked-up girl who is looking for my own peace of mind.  Don't assign me yours.\nJOEL\nI remember that speech really well.\nCLEMENTINE\n(smiling)\nI had you pegged, didn't I?\nJOEL\nYou had the whole human race pegged.\nCLEMENTINE\nProbably.\nJOEL\nI still thought you were going to save me.  Even after that.\nCLEMENTINE\nI know.\nJOEL\nIt would be different, if we could just give it another go around.\nCLEMENTINE\nRemember me.  Try your best.  Maybe we can.\nThe scene is gone.\nIt's interesting to compare the script to the completed film. The shooting script that we have access to seems relatively close for a lot of the second act—the part where things get crazy—but there's a lot especially in the first act of the script that comes off as a bit indulgent. There's a lot of talking that doesn't seem to move anything forward at all. It wouldn't fly in a spec script from an unknown writer, but when you're coming off Being John Malkovich they cut you some slack. Anyway, it plays much better and faster in the film after final edits and whatever improvisational changes came about from Carey and Winslet.\nThe only thing that was lost from the screenplay that might have been worth keeping—and really, it doesn't hurt the story that it didn't make the cut—is the bit that implies Clementine is a regular visitor to Montauk, which would answer the continuity question some people have about how she would have known to go there to meet Joel after the procedure. The short, subliminal answer: she didn't know, but he knew she was going to be there anyway.\nIf you like one story about a damaged man desperately in love who's played by an actor attempting a serious role away from his usual outrageous comic caricatures, maybe you'll like another. The natural choice would be Adam Sandler in Paul Thomas Anderson's\nPunch Drunk Love\n.\nEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind\nor","attrs_markdown":"![](https:\/\/ct.pinterest.com\/v3\/?event=init&tid=2612444450317&pd[em]=<hashed_email_address>&noscript=1)\n\nThis website uses cookies on your computer for proper functionality of core site features and to analyze site traffic.\n\nAccept\n\n[Learn more](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/privacy.php)\n\n- [Home](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/index.php)\n- [How Do You Tell A Story?](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/how-do-you-tell-a-story.php)\n- [Story Circle](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story-circle.php)\n- [Resources](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/resources.php)\n- [Plotter](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/plotter.php)\n- - [Account](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/account.php)\n  - [Sign Out](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/signout.php)\n\n![](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/icon-close-25.png)\n\n#### Log In\nRemember me\n\nGo\n\nUnknown username\/password combination.\n\nForgot password?\n\n![](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/icon-close-25.png)\n\n#### Forgot Password?\nReset\n\nIf your email is in our system, we’ve sent you a link to reset your password. The link will expire in 15 minutes.\n\nPlease enter a valid email address.\n\n![](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/icon-close-25.png)\n\n#### Join Story24\nI agree to the site [Terms & Conditions](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/terms.php) and [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/privacy.php).\n\nJoin\n\nUsernames can use letters and numerals only, and must be at least five characters long.\n\nThis username is not available.\n\nPlease use a valid email address.\n\nThis email is already in use. Maybe the ‘forgot password’ link in the login form can help?\n\nWe don’t want to get too picky about your password choices, but can you give us at least five characters?\n\nPlease agree to the terms & conditions.\n\n### Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind\nWhat's it like inside Charlie Kaufman's head? You have to wonder. It's not as if he doesn't continually open it up on the page—literally or metaphorically, I'm honestly not sure which. There's the door into [Malkovich](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3FhAiPo), the running down of memories in Eternal Sunshine, the replicated lives of [Synecdoche](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Dh5OMW), the self-reflective autobiographical fantasy of [Adaptation](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3nb8bvk). He does it again, or variations of it—whatever *it* is—in [Anomalisa](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3wHwHXY), I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and even his novel [Antkind](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3BZ9TUE).\n\nIt's a fascinating place. I wouldn't want to live there.\n\n![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind story circle and film analysis](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/post\/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-001.png)\n\n###### Well, technically, the procedure itself is brain damage, but on a par with a night of heavy drinking. Nothing you'll miss.\n[Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3kBxi8H) tells the story of Joel Barish, whose girlfriend Clementine Kruczynski has had him erased from her memory. In response to being erased, Joel has the same procedure performed on himself to remove his own memories of Clementine. The bulk of the story takes place within Joel's head as old memories are erased one by one and as Joel changes his mind and starts fighting back against the process.\n\nStory Circle \\| Outline View\n\n[Click for enlarged graphic in new window.](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/clock\/eternal_sunshine_of_the_spotless_mind.svg)\n\nThe nature of this thing is to be a fragmented, non-linear jumble that jumps back and forth between disordered memories and the present, with interventions from Joel's subconscious as it tries to rewrite its world.\n\nThe story does give us some natural break points that we can consider as a traditional three-act structure, although the first and especially the third acts are shorter than usual. The first act begins with a lengthy future-as-prologue segment that chronologically takes place in the aftermath of the procedure, and which is revisited in the third act. The second act is the procedure itself, which breaks neatly into two parts at the moment Joel decides he wants to call the whole thing off.\n\nThe neat trick that gets played here is that we see memories as they are erased in reverse chronological order, starting with the most ugly ones of a relationship well into its toxic phase. But as these most recent memories are lost, Joel falls more and more back in love with Clementine until that one perfect moment on the frozen Charles. This leads to an even more chaotic second half as Joel and Clementine zig and zag through his own mind, trying to hide in his childhood and in his deepest humiliation and shame.\n\nThat’s such a Charlie Kaufman thing to do.\n\n![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind plot outline and analysis](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/post\/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-017.png)\n\nOf course director Michel Gondry also played a big part in the magic of Eternal Sunshine, and he gets a story credit as well. The practical effects and clever production design go a long way to bringing to life the chaotic dreamscape of the story, which shifts seamlessly from place to place, from reality to memory to imagination, from anger and confusion and despair to self-awareness and forgiveness and even love.\n\nJoel and Clementine are deeply flawed characters. She can be charming and vivacious, but she’s also volatile and easily offended. Her reliance on alcohol does her no favors. Joel has an intelligence that can cross the line into arrogance, and also an innate cowardice that prevents him from fully committing to the relationship or even to life. They’re perfect for each other, if only they could get it right. It’s also easy to argue that their relationship is doomed from the start, and probably from the restart as well.\n\n###### Well you don't know me so you don't know, do you?\nThe story is masterful in its characterizations and in giving these people well earned arcs. It's not just Joel and Clementine, but also Patrick and Stan and Howard and Mary who all have to deal with the repercussions of the technology and what they've done with it, and what a mess it's made of their lives. It's Mary, in fact, who seems like a relatively inconsequential character at first, who gets the big late twist that puts the exclamation point on what a bad idea this fancy new technology is.\n\n![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind story clock](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/post\/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-008.png)\n\nThe heart of the story, though, is Joel and Clementine, and rooting for them to fall back in love, whether that's a good idea or not. Lots of credit here goes to Kate Winslet and Jim Carey for making such difficult people so appealing.\n\n###### I don't need nice. I don't need myself to be it and I don't need anybody else to be it at me.\nINT. BARNES AND NOBLE BOOKSTORE - NIGHT\n\n\\[...\\]\n\nCLEMENTINE\n\nLook, man, I'm telling you right off the bat, I'm high maintenance. So I'm not going to tiptoe around your marriage or whatever it is you got going there. If you want to be with me, you're with me.\n\nJOEL\n\nOkay.\n\nCLEMENTINE\n\nSo make your domestic decisions and maybe we'll talk again.\n\nShe goes back to stacking. Joel stands there helplessly.\n\nJOEL\n\nI just think that you have some kind of ... quality that seems really important to me.\n\nThe scene is disintegrating. Clementine's speech is delivered without passion.\n\nCLEMENTINE\n\nJoel, I'm not a concept. I want you to just keep that in your head. Too many guys think I'm a concept or I complete them or I'm going to make them alive, but I'm just a fucked-up girl who is looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours.\n\nJOEL\n\nI remember that speech really well.\n\nCLEMENTINE\n\n(smiling)\n\nI had you pegged, didn't I?\n\nJOEL\n\nYou had the whole human race pegged.\n\nCLEMENTINE\n\nProbably.\n\nJOEL\n\nI still thought you were going to save me. Even after that.\n\nCLEMENTINE\n\nI know.\n\nJOEL\n\nIt would be different, if we could just give it another go around.\n\nCLEMENTINE\n\nRemember me. Try your best. Maybe we can.\n\nThe scene is gone.\n\nIt's interesting to compare the script to the completed film. The shooting script that we have access to seems relatively close for a lot of the second act—the part where things get crazy—but there's a lot especially in the first act of the script that comes off as a bit indulgent. There's a lot of talking that doesn't seem to move anything forward at all. It wouldn't fly in a spec script from an unknown writer, but when you're coming off Being John Malkovich they cut you some slack. Anyway, it plays much better and faster in the film after final edits and whatever improvisational changes came about from Carey and Winslet.\n\nThe only thing that was lost from the screenplay that might have been worth keeping—and really, it doesn't hurt the story that it didn't make the cut—is the bit that implies Clementine is a regular visitor to Montauk, which would answer the continuity question some people have about how she would have known to go there to meet Joel after the procedure. The short, subliminal answer: she didn't know, but he knew she was going to be there anyway.\n\n###### I can't see anything that I don't like about you.\n![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind i can't see anything that i don't like about you](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/post\/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-010.png)\n\n###### Double Feature Suggestions\n- If you like one story about a damaged man desperately in love who's played by an actor attempting a serious role away from his usual outrageous comic caricatures, maybe you'll like another. The natural choice would be Adam Sandler in Paul Thomas Anderson's [Punch Drunk Love](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3qFvi3n).\n###### Screenplay Link\n- [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/screenplays\/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind.pdf)\n###### I'm sorry if I came off sort of nutso. I'm not really.\n###### Comments\nNo comments yet.\n\n###### Join to Comment\nJoin Now or Log In\n\n\\<\\< [Party Down](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/party-down) \\<\\< \\>\\> [Self-Promotion as the World Burns](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/self-promotion-as-the-world-burns) \\>\\>\n\n###### Read More\n|   |   |   |\n|---|---|---|\n| [![](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/post\/MK-screen-shots-6-sq.jpg) Moonrise Kingdom](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/moonrise-kingdom) | [![](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/post\/limey-sq.png) The Limey](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/the-limey) | [![](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/post\/john-wick-sq.png) John Wick](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/john-wick) |\n| [![](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/post\/la-la-land-sq-18.png) La La Land](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/la-la-land) | [![](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/post\/election-sq-1.png) Election](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/election) | [![](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/post\/party-down-square.jpg) Party Down](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/party-down) |\n\n##### It appears as if this is my first entry in two years.\n***\n![story structure](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/story24-logo.svg)\n***\n###### My Books\n|   |   |   |\n|---|---|---|\n| [![](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/DR_cover_160.jpg)](https:\/\/amzn.to\/30dIXU0) |   | [![](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/TLW-cover-200.jpg)](https:\/\/amzn.to\/2CQZQWv) |\n| Praise for *Dead Reckoning* “A captivating maritime story, both subtle and dramatic.”  —*Kirkus Reviews* “A brisk and bracing read.”  —Glen Starkey, *New Times San Luis Obispo* “Enjoy this book before it hits the silver screen. With a story so compelling and cinematic, populated with irresistible characters, it’s destined to become a major motion picture.”  —Terry Rossio, screenwriter, *Pirates of the Caribbean* |   |   |\n###### Recent Posts\n- [Before Sunrise](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/before-sunrise)\n- [Pulp Fiction](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/pulp-fiction)\n- [Moonrise Kingdom](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/moonrise-kingdom)\n- [Party Down](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/party-down)\n- [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind)\n- [The Limey](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/the-limey)\n- [La La Land](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/la-la-land)\n- [The Apartment](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/the-apartment)\n- [Kiss Kiss Bang Bang](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/kiss-kiss-bang-bang)\n- [John Wick](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/john-wick)\n- [Election](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/election)\n- [Casablanca](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/casablanca)\n\n***\n###### Help Me Choose\nWhat movie should I write about next? I have a few ideas, but I‘m open to suggestions:\n\nCats\n\nChildren Of Men\n\nDonnie Darko\n\nFour Weddings and a Funeral\n\nGood Will Hunting\n\nGrosse Point Blank\n\nHell or High Water\n\nJo Jo Rabbit\n\nLa Dolce Vita\n\nLa Notte\n\nLogan\n\nMiller's Crossing\n\nMoonlight (2016)\n\nNever Let Me Go\n\nPan's Labyrinth\n\nPunch Drunk Love\n\nRambo\n\nStar Wars\n\nThe Big Lebowski\n\nThe Nice Guys\n\nThe Raid 2\n\nor something else\n\n***\n###### Vote Results for Upcoming Posts\nThank you for your suggestion! Be sure to sign up below to be notified when new story circles are posted to the site\\!\n\n![votes for the next story circle](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/votegraphic.php)  \n  Pan's Labyrinth (14%)  \n  Donnie Darko (13%)  \n  Star Wars (11%)  \n  Jo Jo Rabbit (8%)  \n  The Big Lebowski (7%)  \n  Punch Drunk Love (7%)  \n  Children Of Men (6%)  \n  Good Will Hunting (5%)  \n  Hell or High Water (5%)  \n  Other\n\n**Thanks again! And hey, if you’d like to write one of these articles, [hit me up](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/write-with-me).**\n***\n###### Write for Story24\nIf you’re interested in contributing to this site, I would love to hear from you. Learn more here:\n\n[Write for Story24](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/story\/write-with-me).\n***\n###### Other Business\nSome of the links on this site are affiliate links. I earn a small commission when purchases are made after these links are clicked.\n***\n***\n\n- [About](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/about.php)\n- [Contact](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/contact.php)","attrs_readable_markdown":"### Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind\nWhat's it like inside Charlie Kaufman's head? You have to wonder. It's not as if he doesn't continually open it up on the page—literally or metaphorically, I'm honestly not sure which. There's the door into [Malkovich](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3FhAiPo), the running down of memories in Eternal Sunshine, the replicated lives of [Synecdoche](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Dh5OMW), the self-reflective autobiographical fantasy of [Adaptation](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3nb8bvk). He does it again, or variations of it—whatever *it* is—in [Anomalisa](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3wHwHXY), I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and even his novel [Antkind](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3BZ9TUE).\n\nIt's a fascinating place. I wouldn't want to live there.\n\n![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind story circle and film analysis](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/post\/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-001.png)\n\n[Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3kBxi8H) tells the story of Joel Barish, whose girlfriend Clementine Kruczynski has had him erased from her memory. In response to being erased, Joel has the same procedure performed on himself to remove his own memories of Clementine. The bulk of the story takes place within Joel's head as old memories are erased one by one and as Joel changes his mind and starts fighting back against the process.\n\nStory Circle \\| Outline View\n\nThe nature of this thing is to be a fragmented, non-linear jumble that jumps back and forth between disordered memories and the present, with interventions from Joel's subconscious as it tries to rewrite its world.\n\nThe story does give us some natural break points that we can consider as a traditional three-act structure, although the first and especially the third acts are shorter than usual. The first act begins with a lengthy future-as-prologue segment that chronologically takes place in the aftermath of the procedure, and which is revisited in the third act. The second act is the procedure itself, which breaks neatly into two parts at the moment Joel decides he wants to call the whole thing off.\n\nThe neat trick that gets played here is that we see memories as they are erased in reverse chronological order, starting with the most ugly ones of a relationship well into its toxic phase. But as these most recent memories are lost, Joel falls more and more back in love with Clementine until that one perfect moment on the frozen Charles. This leads to an even more chaotic second half as Joel and Clementine zig and zag through his own mind, trying to hide in his childhood and in his deepest humiliation and shame.\n\nThat’s such a Charlie Kaufman thing to do.\n\n![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind plot outline and analysis](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/post\/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-017.png)\n\nOf course director Michel Gondry also played a big part in the magic of Eternal Sunshine, and he gets a story credit as well. The practical effects and clever production design go a long way to bringing to life the chaotic dreamscape of the story, which shifts seamlessly from place to place, from reality to memory to imagination, from anger and confusion and despair to self-awareness and forgiveness and even love.\n\nJoel and Clementine are deeply flawed characters. She can be charming and vivacious, but she’s also volatile and easily offended. Her reliance on alcohol does her no favors. Joel has an intelligence that can cross the line into arrogance, and also an innate cowardice that prevents him from fully committing to the relationship or even to life. They’re perfect for each other, if only they could get it right. It’s also easy to argue that their relationship is doomed from the start, and probably from the restart as well.\n\nThe story is masterful in its characterizations and in giving these people well earned arcs. It's not just Joel and Clementine, but also Patrick and Stan and Howard and Mary who all have to deal with the repercussions of the technology and what they've done with it, and what a mess it's made of their lives. It's Mary, in fact, who seems like a relatively inconsequential character at first, who gets the big late twist that puts the exclamation point on what a bad idea this fancy new technology is.\n\n![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind story clock](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/post\/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-008.png)\n\nThe heart of the story, though, is Joel and Clementine, and rooting for them to fall back in love, whether that's a good idea or not. Lots of credit here goes to Kate Winslet and Jim Carey for making such difficult people so appealing.\n\nINT. BARNES AND NOBLE BOOKSTORE - NIGHT\n\n\\[...\\]\n\nCLEMENTINE\n\nLook, man, I'm telling you right off the bat, I'm high maintenance. So I'm not going to tiptoe around your marriage or whatever it is you got going there. If you want to be with me, you're with me.\n\nJOEL\n\nOkay.\n\nCLEMENTINE\n\nSo make your domestic decisions and maybe we'll talk again.\n\nShe goes back to stacking. Joel stands there helplessly.\n\nJOEL\n\nI just think that you have some kind of ... quality that seems really important to me.\n\nThe scene is disintegrating. Clementine's speech is delivered without passion.\n\nCLEMENTINE\n\nJoel, I'm not a concept. I want you to just keep that in your head. Too many guys think I'm a concept or I complete them or I'm going to make them alive, but I'm just a fucked-up girl who is looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours.\n\nJOEL\n\nI remember that speech really well.\n\nCLEMENTINE\n\n(smiling)\n\nI had you pegged, didn't I?\n\nJOEL\n\nYou had the whole human race pegged.\n\nCLEMENTINE\n\nProbably.\n\nJOEL\n\nI still thought you were going to save me. Even after that.\n\nCLEMENTINE\n\nI know.\n\nJOEL\n\nIt would be different, if we could just give it another go around.\n\nCLEMENTINE\n\nRemember me. Try your best. Maybe we can.\n\nThe scene is gone.\n\nIt's interesting to compare the script to the completed film. The shooting script that we have access to seems relatively close for a lot of the second act—the part where things get crazy—but there's a lot especially in the first act of the script that comes off as a bit indulgent. There's a lot of talking that doesn't seem to move anything forward at all. It wouldn't fly in a spec script from an unknown writer, but when you're coming off Being John Malkovich they cut you some slack. Anyway, it plays much better and faster in the film after final edits and whatever improvisational changes came about from Carey and Winslet.\n\nThe only thing that was lost from the screenplay that might have been worth keeping—and really, it doesn't hurt the story that it didn't make the cut—is the bit that implies Clementine is a regular visitor to Montauk, which would answer the continuity question some people have about how she would have known to go there to meet Joel after the procedure. The short, subliminal answer: she didn't know, but he knew she was going to be there anyway.\n\n![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind i can't see anything that i don't like about you](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/images\/post\/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-010.png)\n\n- If you like one story about a damaged man desperately in love who's played by an actor attempting a serious role away from his usual outrageous comic caricatures, maybe you'll like another. The natural choice would be Adam Sandler in Paul Thomas Anderson's [Punch Drunk Love](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3qFvi3n).\n\n- [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind](https:\/\/www.story24.film\/screenplays\/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind.pdf)\n\nor","meta_canonical":null}

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Boilerpipe Text	Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind What's it like inside Charlie Kaufman's head? You have to wonder. It's not as if he doesn't continually open it up on the page—literally or metaphorically, I'm honestly not sure which. There's the door into Malkovich , the running down of memories in Eternal Sunshine, the replicated lives of Synecdoche , the self-reflective autobiographical fantasy of Adaptation . He does it again, or variations of it—whatever it is—in Anomalisa , I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and even his novel Antkind . It's a fascinating place. I wouldn't want to live there. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind tells the story of Joel Barish, whose girlfriend Clementine Kruczynski has had him erased from her memory. In response to being erased, Joel has the same procedure performed on himself to remove his own memories of Clementine. The bulk of the story takes place within Joel's head as old memories are erased one by one and as Joel changes his mind and starts fighting back against the process. Story Circle \| Outline View The nature of this thing is to be a fragmented, non-linear jumble that jumps back and forth between disordered memories and the present, with interventions from Joel's subconscious as it tries to rewrite its world. The story does give us some natural break points that we can consider as a traditional three-act structure, although the first and especially the third acts are shorter than usual. The first act begins with a lengthy future-as-prologue segment that chronologically takes place in the aftermath of the procedure, and which is revisited in the third act. The second act is the procedure itself, which breaks neatly into two parts at the moment Joel decides he wants to call the whole thing off. The neat trick that gets played here is that we see memories as they are erased in reverse chronological order, starting with the most ugly ones of a relationship well into its toxic phase. But as these most recent memories are lost, Joel falls more and more back in love with Clementine until that one perfect moment on the frozen Charles. This leads to an even more chaotic second half as Joel and Clementine zig and zag through his own mind, trying to hide in his childhood and in his deepest humiliation and shame. That’s such a Charlie Kaufman thing to do. Of course director Michel Gondry also played a big part in the magic of Eternal Sunshine, and he gets a story credit as well. The practical effects and clever production design go a long way to bringing to life the chaotic dreamscape of the story, which shifts seamlessly from place to place, from reality to memory to imagination, from anger and confusion and despair to self-awareness and forgiveness and even love. Joel and Clementine are deeply flawed characters. She can be charming and vivacious, but she’s also volatile and easily offended. Her reliance on alcohol does her no favors. Joel has an intelligence that can cross the line into arrogance, and also an innate cowardice that prevents him from fully committing to the relationship or even to life. They’re perfect for each other, if only they could get it right. It’s also easy to argue that their relationship is doomed from the start, and probably from the restart as well. The story is masterful in its characterizations and in giving these people well earned arcs. It's not just Joel and Clementine, but also Patrick and Stan and Howard and Mary who all have to deal with the repercussions of the technology and what they've done with it, and what a mess it's made of their lives. It's Mary, in fact, who seems like a relatively inconsequential character at first, who gets the big late twist that puts the exclamation point on what a bad idea this fancy new technology is. The heart of the story, though, is Joel and Clementine, and rooting for them to fall back in love, whether that's a good idea or not. Lots of credit here goes to Kate Winslet and Jim Carey for making such difficult people so appealing. INT. BARNES AND NOBLE BOOKSTORE - NIGHT [...] CLEMENTINE Look, man, I'm telling you right off the bat, I'm high maintenance. So I'm not going to tiptoe around your marriage or whatever it is you got going there. If you want to be with me, you're with me. JOEL Okay. CLEMENTINE So make your domestic decisions and maybe we'll talk again. She goes back to stacking. Joel stands there helplessly. JOEL I just think that you have some kind of ... quality that seems really important to me. The scene is disintegrating. Clementine's speech is delivered without passion. CLEMENTINE Joel, I'm not a concept. I want you to just keep that in your head. Too many guys think I'm a concept or I complete them or I'm going to make them alive, but I'm just a fucked-up girl who is looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours. JOEL I remember that speech really well. CLEMENTINE (smiling) I had you pegged, didn't I? JOEL You had the whole human race pegged. CLEMENTINE Probably. JOEL I still thought you were going to save me. Even after that. CLEMENTINE I know. JOEL It would be different, if we could just give it another go around. CLEMENTINE Remember me. Try your best. Maybe we can. The scene is gone. It's interesting to compare the script to the completed film. The shooting script that we have access to seems relatively close for a lot of the second act—the part where things get crazy—but there's a lot especially in the first act of the script that comes off as a bit indulgent. There's a lot of talking that doesn't seem to move anything forward at all. It wouldn't fly in a spec script from an unknown writer, but when you're coming off Being John Malkovich they cut you some slack. Anyway, it plays much better and faster in the film after final edits and whatever improvisational changes came about from Carey and Winslet. The only thing that was lost from the screenplay that might have been worth keeping—and really, it doesn't hurt the story that it didn't make the cut—is the bit that implies Clementine is a regular visitor to Montauk, which would answer the continuity question some people have about how she would have known to go there to meet Joel after the procedure. The short, subliminal answer: she didn't know, but he knew she was going to be there anyway. If you like one story about a damaged man desperately in love who's played by an actor attempting a serious role away from his usual outrageous comic caricatures, maybe you'll like another. The natural choice would be Adam Sandler in Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch Drunk Love . Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or
Markdown	![](https://ct.pinterest.com/v3/?event=init&tid=2612444450317&pd[em]=<hashed_email_address>&noscript=1) This website uses cookies on your computer for proper functionality of core site features and to analyze site traffic. Accept [Learn more](https://www.story24.film/privacy.php) - [Home](https://www.story24.film/index.php) - [How Do You Tell A Story?](https://www.story24.film/how-do-you-tell-a-story.php) - [Story Circle](https://www.story24.film/story-circle.php) - [Resources](https://www.story24.film/resources.php) - [Plotter](https://www.story24.film/plotter.php) - - [Account](https://www.story24.film/account.php) - [Sign Out](https://www.story24.film/signout.php) ![](https://www.story24.film/images/icon-close-25.png) #### Log In Remember me Go Unknown username/password combination. Forgot password? ![](https://www.story24.film/images/icon-close-25.png) #### Forgot Password? Reset If your email is in our system, we’ve sent you a link to reset your password. The link will expire in 15 minutes. Please enter a valid email address. ![](https://www.story24.film/images/icon-close-25.png) #### Join Story24 I agree to the site [Terms & Conditions](https://www.story24.film/story/terms.php) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.story24.film/story/privacy.php). Join Usernames can use letters and numerals only, and must be at least five characters long. This username is not available. Please use a valid email address. This email is already in use. Maybe the ‘forgot password’ link in the login form can help? We don’t want to get too picky about your password choices, but can you give us at least five characters? Please agree to the terms & conditions. ### Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind What's it like inside Charlie Kaufman's head? You have to wonder. It's not as if he doesn't continually open it up on the page—literally or metaphorically, I'm honestly not sure which. There's the door into [Malkovich](https://amzn.to/3FhAiPo), the running down of memories in Eternal Sunshine, the replicated lives of [Synecdoche](https://amzn.to/3Dh5OMW), the self-reflective autobiographical fantasy of [Adaptation](https://amzn.to/3nb8bvk). He does it again, or variations of it—whatever it is—in [Anomalisa](https://amzn.to/3wHwHXY), I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and even his novel [Antkind](https://amzn.to/3BZ9TUE). It's a fascinating place. I wouldn't want to live there. ![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind story circle and film analysis](https://www.story24.film/images/post/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-001.png) ###### Well, technically, the procedure itself is brain damage, but on a par with a night of heavy drinking. Nothing you'll miss. [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind](https://amzn.to/3kBxi8H) tells the story of Joel Barish, whose girlfriend Clementine Kruczynski has had him erased from her memory. In response to being erased, Joel has the same procedure performed on himself to remove his own memories of Clementine. The bulk of the story takes place within Joel's head as old memories are erased one by one and as Joel changes his mind and starts fighting back against the process. Story Circle \\| Outline View [Click for enlarged graphic in new window.](https://www.story24.film/images/clock/eternal_sunshine_of_the_spotless_mind.svg) The nature of this thing is to be a fragmented, non-linear jumble that jumps back and forth between disordered memories and the present, with interventions from Joel's subconscious as it tries to rewrite its world. The story does give us some natural break points that we can consider as a traditional three-act structure, although the first and especially the third acts are shorter than usual. The first act begins with a lengthy future-as-prologue segment that chronologically takes place in the aftermath of the procedure, and which is revisited in the third act. The second act is the procedure itself, which breaks neatly into two parts at the moment Joel decides he wants to call the whole thing off. The neat trick that gets played here is that we see memories as they are erased in reverse chronological order, starting with the most ugly ones of a relationship well into its toxic phase. But as these most recent memories are lost, Joel falls more and more back in love with Clementine until that one perfect moment on the frozen Charles. This leads to an even more chaotic second half as Joel and Clementine zig and zag through his own mind, trying to hide in his childhood and in his deepest humiliation and shame. That’s such a Charlie Kaufman thing to do. ![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind plot outline and analysis](https://www.story24.film/images/post/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-017.png) Of course director Michel Gondry also played a big part in the magic of Eternal Sunshine, and he gets a story credit as well. The practical effects and clever production design go a long way to bringing to life the chaotic dreamscape of the story, which shifts seamlessly from place to place, from reality to memory to imagination, from anger and confusion and despair to self-awareness and forgiveness and even love. Joel and Clementine are deeply flawed characters. She can be charming and vivacious, but she’s also volatile and easily offended. Her reliance on alcohol does her no favors. Joel has an intelligence that can cross the line into arrogance, and also an innate cowardice that prevents him from fully committing to the relationship or even to life. They’re perfect for each other, if only they could get it right. It’s also easy to argue that their relationship is doomed from the start, and probably from the restart as well. ###### Well you don't know me so you don't know, do you? The story is masterful in its characterizations and in giving these people well earned arcs. It's not just Joel and Clementine, but also Patrick and Stan and Howard and Mary who all have to deal with the repercussions of the technology and what they've done with it, and what a mess it's made of their lives. It's Mary, in fact, who seems like a relatively inconsequential character at first, who gets the big late twist that puts the exclamation point on what a bad idea this fancy new technology is. ![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind story clock](https://www.story24.film/images/post/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-008.png) The heart of the story, though, is Joel and Clementine, and rooting for them to fall back in love, whether that's a good idea or not. Lots of credit here goes to Kate Winslet and Jim Carey for making such difficult people so appealing. ###### I don't need nice. I don't need myself to be it and I don't need anybody else to be it at me. INT. BARNES AND NOBLE BOOKSTORE - NIGHT \[...\] CLEMENTINE Look, man, I'm telling you right off the bat, I'm high maintenance. So I'm not going to tiptoe around your marriage or whatever it is you got going there. If you want to be with me, you're with me. JOEL Okay. CLEMENTINE So make your domestic decisions and maybe we'll talk again. She goes back to stacking. Joel stands there helplessly. JOEL I just think that you have some kind of ... quality that seems really important to me. The scene is disintegrating. Clementine's speech is delivered without passion. CLEMENTINE Joel, I'm not a concept. I want you to just keep that in your head. Too many guys think I'm a concept or I complete them or I'm going to make them alive, but I'm just a fucked-up girl who is looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours. JOEL I remember that speech really well. CLEMENTINE (smiling) I had you pegged, didn't I? JOEL You had the whole human race pegged. CLEMENTINE Probably. JOEL I still thought you were going to save me. Even after that. CLEMENTINE I know. JOEL It would be different, if we could just give it another go around. CLEMENTINE Remember me. Try your best. Maybe we can. The scene is gone. It's interesting to compare the script to the completed film. The shooting script that we have access to seems relatively close for a lot of the second act—the part where things get crazy—but there's a lot especially in the first act of the script that comes off as a bit indulgent. There's a lot of talking that doesn't seem to move anything forward at all. It wouldn't fly in a spec script from an unknown writer, but when you're coming off Being John Malkovich they cut you some slack. Anyway, it plays much better and faster in the film after final edits and whatever improvisational changes came about from Carey and Winslet. The only thing that was lost from the screenplay that might have been worth keeping—and really, it doesn't hurt the story that it didn't make the cut—is the bit that implies Clementine is a regular visitor to Montauk, which would answer the continuity question some people have about how she would have known to go there to meet Joel after the procedure. The short, subliminal answer: she didn't know, but he knew she was going to be there anyway. ###### I can't see anything that I don't like about you. ![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind i can't see anything that i don't like about you](https://www.story24.film/images/post/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-010.png) ###### Double Feature Suggestions - If you like one story about a damaged man desperately in love who's played by an actor attempting a serious role away from his usual outrageous comic caricatures, maybe you'll like another. The natural choice would be Adam Sandler in Paul Thomas Anderson's [Punch Drunk Love](https://amzn.to/3qFvi3n). ###### Screenplay Link - [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind](https://www.story24.film/screenplays/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind.pdf) ###### I'm sorry if I came off sort of nutso. I'm not really. ###### Comments No comments yet. ###### Join to Comment Join Now or Log In \<\< [Party Down](https://www.story24.film/story/party-down) \<\< \>\> [Self-Promotion as the World Burns](https://www.story24.film/story/self-promotion-as-the-world-burns) \>\> ###### Read More \| \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| [![](https://www.story24.film/images/post/MK-screen-shots-6-sq.jpg) Moonrise Kingdom](https://www.story24.film/story/moonrise-kingdom) \| [![](https://www.story24.film/images/post/limey-sq.png) The Limey](https://www.story24.film/story/the-limey) \| [![](https://www.story24.film/images/post/john-wick-sq.png) John Wick](https://www.story24.film/story/john-wick) \| \| [![](https://www.story24.film/images/post/la-la-land-sq-18.png) La La Land](https://www.story24.film/story/la-la-land) \| [![](https://www.story24.film/images/post/election-sq-1.png) Election](https://www.story24.film/story/election) \| [![](https://www.story24.film/images/post/party-down-square.jpg) Party Down](https://www.story24.film/story/party-down) \| ##### It appears as if this is my first entry in two years. * ![story structure](https://www.story24.film/images/story24-logo.svg) * ###### My Books \| \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| [![](https://www.story24.film/images/DR_cover_160.jpg)](https://amzn.to/30dIXU0) \| \| [![](https://www.story24.film/images/TLW-cover-200.jpg)](https://amzn.to/2CQZQWv) \| \| Praise for Dead Reckoning “A captivating maritime story, both subtle and dramatic.” —Kirkus Reviews “A brisk and bracing read.” —Glen Starkey, New Times San Luis Obispo “Enjoy this book before it hits the silver screen. With a story so compelling and cinematic, populated with irresistible characters, it’s destined to become a major motion picture.” —Terry Rossio, screenwriter, Pirates of the Caribbean \| \| \| ###### Recent Posts - [Before Sunrise](https://www.story24.film/story/before-sunrise) - [Pulp Fiction](https://www.story24.film/story/pulp-fiction) - [Moonrise Kingdom](https://www.story24.film/story/moonrise-kingdom) - [Party Down](https://www.story24.film/story/party-down) - [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind](https://www.story24.film/story/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind) - [The Limey](https://www.story24.film/story/the-limey) - [La La Land](https://www.story24.film/story/la-la-land) - [The Apartment](https://www.story24.film/story/the-apartment) - [Kiss Kiss Bang Bang](https://www.story24.film/story/kiss-kiss-bang-bang) - [John Wick](https://www.story24.film/story/john-wick) - [Election](https://www.story24.film/story/election) - [Casablanca](https://www.story24.film/story/casablanca) * ###### Help Me Choose What movie should I write about next? I have a few ideas, but I‘m open to suggestions: Cats Children Of Men Donnie Darko Four Weddings and a Funeral Good Will Hunting Grosse Point Blank Hell or High Water Jo Jo Rabbit La Dolce Vita La Notte Logan Miller's Crossing Moonlight (2016) Never Let Me Go Pan's Labyrinth Punch Drunk Love Rambo Star Wars The Big Lebowski The Nice Guys The Raid 2 or something else * ###### Vote Results for Upcoming Posts Thank you for your suggestion! Be sure to sign up below to be notified when new story circles are posted to the site\! ![votes for the next story circle](https://www.story24.film/votegraphic.php) Pan's Labyrinth (14%) Donnie Darko (13%) Star Wars (11%) Jo Jo Rabbit (8%) The Big Lebowski (7%) Punch Drunk Love (7%) Children Of Men (6%) Good Will Hunting (5%) Hell or High Water (5%) Other Thanks again! And hey, if you’d like to write one of these articles, [hit me up](https://www.story24.film/story/write-with-me). * ###### Write for Story24 If you’re interested in contributing to this site, I would love to hear from you. Learn more here: [Write for Story24](https://www.story24.film/story/write-with-me). * ###### Other Business Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. I earn a small commission when purchases are made after these links are clicked. * * - [About](https://www.story24.film/about.php) - [Contact](https://www.story24.film/contact.php)
Readable Markdown	### Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind What's it like inside Charlie Kaufman's head? You have to wonder. It's not as if he doesn't continually open it up on the page—literally or metaphorically, I'm honestly not sure which. There's the door into [Malkovich](https://amzn.to/3FhAiPo), the running down of memories in Eternal Sunshine, the replicated lives of [Synecdoche](https://amzn.to/3Dh5OMW), the self-reflective autobiographical fantasy of [Adaptation](https://amzn.to/3nb8bvk). He does it again, or variations of it—whatever it is—in [Anomalisa](https://amzn.to/3wHwHXY), I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and even his novel [Antkind](https://amzn.to/3BZ9TUE). It's a fascinating place. I wouldn't want to live there. ![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind story circle and film analysis](https://www.story24.film/images/post/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-001.png) [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind](https://amzn.to/3kBxi8H) tells the story of Joel Barish, whose girlfriend Clementine Kruczynski has had him erased from her memory. In response to being erased, Joel has the same procedure performed on himself to remove his own memories of Clementine. The bulk of the story takes place within Joel's head as old memories are erased one by one and as Joel changes his mind and starts fighting back against the process. Story Circle \\| Outline View The nature of this thing is to be a fragmented, non-linear jumble that jumps back and forth between disordered memories and the present, with interventions from Joel's subconscious as it tries to rewrite its world. The story does give us some natural break points that we can consider as a traditional three-act structure, although the first and especially the third acts are shorter than usual. The first act begins with a lengthy future-as-prologue segment that chronologically takes place in the aftermath of the procedure, and which is revisited in the third act. The second act is the procedure itself, which breaks neatly into two parts at the moment Joel decides he wants to call the whole thing off. The neat trick that gets played here is that we see memories as they are erased in reverse chronological order, starting with the most ugly ones of a relationship well into its toxic phase. But as these most recent memories are lost, Joel falls more and more back in love with Clementine until that one perfect moment on the frozen Charles. This leads to an even more chaotic second half as Joel and Clementine zig and zag through his own mind, trying to hide in his childhood and in his deepest humiliation and shame. That’s such a Charlie Kaufman thing to do. ![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind plot outline and analysis](https://www.story24.film/images/post/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-017.png) Of course director Michel Gondry also played a big part in the magic of Eternal Sunshine, and he gets a story credit as well. The practical effects and clever production design go a long way to bringing to life the chaotic dreamscape of the story, which shifts seamlessly from place to place, from reality to memory to imagination, from anger and confusion and despair to self-awareness and forgiveness and even love. Joel and Clementine are deeply flawed characters. She can be charming and vivacious, but she’s also volatile and easily offended. Her reliance on alcohol does her no favors. Joel has an intelligence that can cross the line into arrogance, and also an innate cowardice that prevents him from fully committing to the relationship or even to life. They’re perfect for each other, if only they could get it right. It’s also easy to argue that their relationship is doomed from the start, and probably from the restart as well. The story is masterful in its characterizations and in giving these people well earned arcs. It's not just Joel and Clementine, but also Patrick and Stan and Howard and Mary who all have to deal with the repercussions of the technology and what they've done with it, and what a mess it's made of their lives. It's Mary, in fact, who seems like a relatively inconsequential character at first, who gets the big late twist that puts the exclamation point on what a bad idea this fancy new technology is. ![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind story clock](https://www.story24.film/images/post/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-008.png) The heart of the story, though, is Joel and Clementine, and rooting for them to fall back in love, whether that's a good idea or not. Lots of credit here goes to Kate Winslet and Jim Carey for making such difficult people so appealing. INT. BARNES AND NOBLE BOOKSTORE - NIGHT \[...\] CLEMENTINE Look, man, I'm telling you right off the bat, I'm high maintenance. So I'm not going to tiptoe around your marriage or whatever it is you got going there. If you want to be with me, you're with me. JOEL Okay. CLEMENTINE So make your domestic decisions and maybe we'll talk again. She goes back to stacking. Joel stands there helplessly. JOEL I just think that you have some kind of ... quality that seems really important to me. The scene is disintegrating. Clementine's speech is delivered without passion. CLEMENTINE Joel, I'm not a concept. I want you to just keep that in your head. Too many guys think I'm a concept or I complete them or I'm going to make them alive, but I'm just a fucked-up girl who is looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours. JOEL I remember that speech really well. CLEMENTINE (smiling) I had you pegged, didn't I? JOEL You had the whole human race pegged. CLEMENTINE Probably. JOEL I still thought you were going to save me. Even after that. CLEMENTINE I know. JOEL It would be different, if we could just give it another go around. CLEMENTINE Remember me. Try your best. Maybe we can. The scene is gone. It's interesting to compare the script to the completed film. The shooting script that we have access to seems relatively close for a lot of the second act—the part where things get crazy—but there's a lot especially in the first act of the script that comes off as a bit indulgent. There's a lot of talking that doesn't seem to move anything forward at all. It wouldn't fly in a spec script from an unknown writer, but when you're coming off Being John Malkovich they cut you some slack. Anyway, it plays much better and faster in the film after final edits and whatever improvisational changes came about from Carey and Winslet. The only thing that was lost from the screenplay that might have been worth keeping—and really, it doesn't hurt the story that it didn't make the cut—is the bit that implies Clementine is a regular visitor to Montauk, which would answer the continuity question some people have about how she would have known to go there to meet Joel after the procedure. The short, subliminal answer: she didn't know, but he knew she was going to be there anyway. ![eternal sunshine of the spotless mind i can't see anything that i don't like about you](https://www.story24.film/images/post/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-010.png) - If you like one story about a damaged man desperately in love who's played by an actor attempting a serious role away from his usual outrageous comic caricatures, maybe you'll like another. The natural choice would be Adam Sandler in Paul Thomas Anderson's [Punch Drunk Love](https://amzn.to/3qFvi3n). - [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind](https://www.story24.film/screenplays/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind.pdf) or
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