Taking its title from an Alexander Pope poem, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind combines the DIY exuberance of director Michel Gondry and the existential hyperactivity of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman in a film that is, technically, about brain damage. Following a painful breakup with his girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet), Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) decides to erase all his memories of her, rather than deal with the mingled nostalgia and regret she conjures. As the technicians of the memory-effacing Lacuna, Inc. begin their work, however, Joel realizes that deleting Clem would leave him with a stunted soul, and embarks on a desperate chase through his personal mnemonic funhouse to preserve their past, and his humanity.
—Tyler J. Petty