Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (BFI Film Classics)

Imagine you learn that your lover has had you erased from their memory and, in a moment of despair, you have your lover erased from your memory too. Imagine that as you lose your recollections of the bad times together, you realise that you don't want to forget them after all. That's the premise for Charlie Kaufman's Oscar-winning script for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind . An instant cult classic, the film's distinctive ambiguity and tangled narrative demands audience engagement and repeated watching. Delving into the central themes of the film, Andrew M. Butler foregrounds its play with genre and audience expectations, its psychoanalytic underpinnings and its debt to Philip K. Dick. Also examining its production processes, Butler explores the against-type casting of Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in lead roles and the intertwined careers of Kaufman and director Michel Gondry. This special edition features original cover artwork by Patricia Derks. An Instant Cult Classic, Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind Was Both A Critical And Commercial Success. Andrew M. Butler Delves Into The Film's Central Themes And Production Processes, Including The Intertwined Careers Of Gondry And Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, The Film's Various Genres, Its Psychoanalytic Aspects, And Its Debt To Philip K. Dick. Introduction -- Actors And Auteurs -- Science Fiction -- The Comedy Of Remarriage -- The Puzzle Film -- Mourning, Melancholy And Trauma -- Coda. Andrew M. Butler. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 98-102) Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 Actors and Auteurs -- 2 Science Fiction -- 3 The Comedy of Remarriage -- 4 The Puzzle Film -- 5 Mourning, Melancholy and Trauma -- Coda -- Notes -- Credits -- Bibliography