The next shot is of him scared and confused as the face of his neighbor is blurred out behind him and the memory is erased. To give context, Gondry starts with a shot of Joel still lying in his bed, listening to the conversation in the lobby. The first memory that is erased is Joel’s most recent conversation about Clem, which he has with a neighbor in the lobby of his apartment building. Once introduced to Joel’s memory, mise-en-scène and cinematography are used together to form visual effects that make a clear message to the audience about what Joel is experiencing.
#Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind analysis full#
(Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004).Įven in the real world of the film, Gondry keeps the viewer in Joel’s head space as to form a connection that is necessary to feel the full effect of his emotional manifestation. Though Clem is the one talking, Joel remains the focal point, attracting the viewer’s attention because of the deep focus. Simultaneously, the camera angle changes, and the shot becomes crowded with Clem’s blurred out head and Joel in clear focus behind her. At the beginning, Joel and Clem introduce themselves to each other on a train, after which, Clem switches seats to be across from Joel instead of in front of him. Even when it is not a memory, the focus is still on Joel and his reactions to the people and the world around him. Slowly and meticulously, Gondry uncovers the underlying sorrow (through mise-en-scène, cinematography, sound, and editing), and palpable sense of tragedy (through the circular narrative) in Joel’s memories to show the viewer the tragedy of love and loss.Īpparent throughout the film, Gondry uses patterns in the mise-en-scène and cinematography to keep the viewer in tune with Joel’s thought process and mentality. Joel strips away his good, bad, and ugly memories, revealing a sense of regret that the viewer is then encouraged to respond to. Gondry allows the viewer to sympathize with Joel and even encourages them to contemplate their own memories.
With so many themes, elements of symbolism, and the creative structure, these patterns help to guide the viewer and reinforce the lesson he wants the viewer to take from Joel’s story. In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Michel Gondry uses patterns enhanced by the cinematic techniques of Joel’s memories to make sense of the complicated narrative he presents.
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