After Clementine experiences her gut-wrenching estrangement with her long-term partner Joel, she takes it into her own hands to erase him from her memory, literally. Clementine discovers Dr. Howard Mierzwiak along with his employees Mary, Patrick, and Stan at the New York City firm, Lacuna. At Lacuna, they assist individuals in erasing their memories about a specific person as long as they bring in all items associated with that individual. As Joel mistakenly finds out that Clementine is undergoing this extreme procedure, he does the same. Joel can’t bear having these memories still as she removes her own memories of him and their rocky relationship.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of the best films of the 2000s. It’s filled with love, loss, and disparity. It’s a classic boy meets girl, they fall in love, boy loses girl trope but with more of a unique sci-fi twist. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind shows breakups and heartbreak in a very raw and emotional way.

This film beautifully dissects both the good and bad of relationships which many movies don’t show in that way. When I think of breakup films, I imagine cheesy ones where a person is at home eating ice cream and watching The Notebook. I don’t think of movies that go to the extreme of erasing their memories of their person due to how heartbroken they are. While the circumstances of erasing memories are unique, the film is more relatable than you’d think. The duality of arguments about flirting, tender moments under the covers, and uncomfortable silences at restaurants will hit home for many viewers. And as serious as the movie becomes, it still has a sense of playfulness and youthfulness to it.

The content itself makes the film one of the best films of the 2000s, but the cinematography aids it as well. The way it's filmed, the filmmakers successfully utilize eye-line match shots. The eye-line match shots show the confusion of Joel going through his memories as he has to keep refocusing before his memories are gone.

Color symbolizes a lot throughout the film as well, meaning the colors either Clementine has her hair, what color her hoodies are, or just the overall color of the shot. Clementine’s hair clearly distincts which timeline we are watching. The past is shown by Clementine's red and orange hair, and the present is shown by her blue hair. The red and orange were during her relationship with Joel, it’s meant to represent the passion and desire between the pair. The blue hair represents her heartbreak and despair after the separation as blue typically represents sadness. This strategy in film is smart because it helps the viewer distinguish time periods throughout the movie and also how Joel and Clementine's relationship is progressing.

Regardless of fully relating to this movie or having a minor relation, this movie is outstanding and others should indulge in this film. It shows relationships and breakups like no other film does, and the filmmakers do it beautifully. The duality between missing a person you’re no longer with but wanting to forget all about them is shown in this film. It has a sad feeling but you feel hope for Clementine and Joel throughout the film as well. It has you on the verge of crying, laughing, and on the edge of your seat at some points. It’s a breakup movie done right.