Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
You can erase someone from your mind. Getting them out of your heart is another story.
Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.
| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 19 March 2004 |
| Genre | Science Fiction, Drama, Romance |
| Director | Michel Gondry |
| Starring | Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet and Kirsten Dunst |
| Runtime | 108 min |
| Rated | R |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8.5/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 93% · Metacritic 89/100 · IMDb 8.3/10 · TMDB users 8.1/10 |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $74 million worldwide |
Where to watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
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What kind of watch this is
Michel Gondry directs this 2004 science fiction drama, where Jim Carrey’s character wakes up to find his mind being surgically dismantled. He is trying to forget Kate Winslet, but the process reveals he actually wants to keep her. That is the central tension. It is a romance that treats memory as a landscape you can walk through, and then get lost in. The 108 minutes move with the disorienting rhythm of a bad dream, yet it feels like the most grounded look at heartbreak in a long time. It is less a love story than an autopsy of one.
What the critics said
Critics embraced it with a warmth that matches the film's own messy heart. Rotten Tomatoes holds a 93% approval rating as of January 2026, backed by 256 reviews. Metacritic sits at 89 out of 100. Roger Ebert noted that despite the story's disorienting hoops, the film maintains a steady emotional center. A. O. Scott called it "cerebral, formally and conceptually complicated," yet "as unabashedly romantic as any movie you'll ever see." The praise extends to the leads, with Winslet and Carrey earning widespread recognition for their performances. It is a film that understands how memory works, even if it refuses to be tidy about it.
How it did with audiences
It cost $20 million and took in $74 million worldwide, a margin that Hollywood accounting might call a loss while the rest of us call it a win. On TMDB, users rate it 8.1 out of 10. It earned $34 million in the United States, enough to keep the lights on and the memories intact.
Where it left its mark
The film keeps winning arguments about itself. In 2025, The New York Times ranked it the 7th best movie of the 21st century, noting how its strange playfulness makes terrible memories feel essential. Ross Douthat called it the most complete Charlie Kaufman movie, a claim that lands because the writing actually moves. The A. V. Club put it first on its list of 2000s films, crediting Michel Gondry with giving Kaufman’s philosophy real emotional weight. It captures a specific, timeless moment of love fading. The verdict stays clean: it shows us who we are, for better or worse.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Sources
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q208269 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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