MovieChat Forums > Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Discussion > I find this movie to be very confusing.....

I find this movie to be very confusing...

posted 7 years ago by RynoII
4 replies | jump to latest

Basically I find it really hard to follow because before the title sequence starts, Joel has had his memory erased, and then after the title sequence, he hasn't yet, and it's now in the past, when he goes to the book store and Clementine does not remember him.

Is this right? But this is where I got lost for the entire rest of the movie, cause there is no transition from present to past at all. All there is, is a title sequence in between and I assumed it was still the present for the rest of the movie.

[–] jinegurl 7 years ago

I had to watch the movie two times before I fully understood the timeline but now I've seen it countless times and it's pretty easy to understand. The opening scene where Joel wakes up in the beginning is the night after he's had his mind erased, the only scenes taking place in the "present" are the day Joel is getting his mind erased. Every other scene is pretty much memories of Joel and Clem. The trivia section also says you can tell the timeline by Clem's hair color.

[–] TMC-4 (19458) 5 years ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/ajs0ky/chronological_order_of_events_in_eternal_sunshine/

[–] [email protected] (1293) 7 years ago

I can see why this is a special film, but I didnt enjoy it as much as it had potential for me to enjoy. Gave me dizzy spells. Too erratic,,,like they were just trying too hard to be off beat. It didnt need it.

[–] Wuchak (8182) 4 years ago

It is too erratic and confusing on initial viewing, but its depth and uniqueness makes it improve on repeat viewings. Even then, it doesn't really get compelling (or make sense) until the midway point. From thereon it holds a wealth of entertainment & insights.