Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a 2004 American science fiction romantic drama film directed by Michel Gondry, based on Charlie Kaufman's screenplay developed from a story by Gondry, Kaufman, and Pierre Bismuth. Starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, along with supporting roles from Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, and Tom Wilkinson, it follows two individuals who undergo a memory erasure procedure to forget each other after the dissolution of their romantic relationship. The title of the film is a quotation from the 1717 poem Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope. It uses elements of psychological drama, science fiction, and a nonlinear narrative to explore the nature of memory and love.[1]
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind opened in theaters in the United States on March 19, 2004, to widespread acclaim from critics and audiences, who hailed the visual style, editing, writing, score, themes, Gondry’s direction, and the performances of the cast, especially Carrey and Winslet. The film was a box office success, grossing $74 million on a $20 million budget, and was named by the American Film Institute one of the Top 10 Films of 2004.[2] At the 77th Academy Awards, Bismuth, Gondry and Kaufman won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and Winslet received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
In the years since its release, the film has become a cult classic;[3] it is considered by many critics as being one of the best films of the 2000s and one of the greatest films of all time.[4] The film has been the inspiration behind several music projects, most notably Ariana Grande's 2024 album Eternal Sunshine.
