#18. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
The brainchild French director Michel Gondry and writer Charlie Kaufman’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a tender and often heart-wrenching look at love in reverse, carefully cataloging a relationship from the moment of detonation to the first blush of love. Pierre Bismuth, the co-writer of the film, had the notion to randomly pass out cards, similar to the ones used by Lacuna Inc. in the film, telling strangers they’d been erased from someone’s memory.
Every actor in the film was encouraged to improvise their scenes, except for Jim Carrey, because his character is reserved and un-spontaneous. This led to some frustration on Carrey’s part, especially when Gondry was urging Winslet, Dunst, and Mark Ruffalo to cut loose with their characters. The reaction of Jim Carrey in the scene in which Kate Winslet’s character disappears is completely real.