Under the Spotlight: Kate Winslet’s three-dimensional performance in ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’
At the beginning of her career, Kate Winslet had become known for her corset-clad, well-spoken performances in period dramas. Making her debut in Peter Jackson’s period piece Heavenly Creatures, she went on to win a Bafta for her performance in Sense & Sensibility, which was followed by her iconic role as Rose in Titanic, for which she gained global recognition.
Wanting to break from these roles and avoid being typecast, Winslet was cast in the role of Clementine Kruczynski in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind after being the only actor to offer criticism of the script instead of fawning admiration. Her portrayal of Clementine allowed her to explore the quirkier, more impulsive side of her personality instead of the usual put-together, albeit headstrong, female leads she had previously played.
The 2004 science-fiction romance follows Joel Barish, a bookish introvert, who undergoes a procedure to remove memories of his unpredictable, complicated ex-girlfriend, Clementine, after finding out she has already done the same to him. Writer Charlie Kaufman and director Michael Gondry purposefully cast Winslet and her co-star Jim Carrey against type, almost reversing the typical personalities the two had portrayed before. And it paid off on both accounts, with Winslet even being nominated for ‘Best Actress’ at the Academy Awards for her portrayal of Clementine.
We first meet Clementine on the train back from Montauk after Joel keeps catching glimpses of her while playing hooky at work. She’s extroverted and loud, sparking up a conversation with him for no reason. Although there’s an impulsive awkwardness there that gives the impression she’s not in control of her words, they just keep coming, and she can’t help it. She’s excited about life, excited about connection. She wants to be known quickly and deeply but also doesn’t like assumptions, “I’m a vindictive little bitch, truth be told.”
She serves to be the total opposite of Joel, who is quiet, shy and scared to live. His awkwardness stems from an anxiety that he might do something wrong or offend someone. Yet, somehow, he does offend Clementine. He makes the disgraceful mistake of calling her nice. She huffs. Then apologises and promises she’s not nuts. They each push each other’s buttons and boundaries, but that’s what works about their relationship. There’s a certain physicality that Winslet brings to the role that makes Clementine so magnetic and intense.
As the story progresses and the audience is made aware that Clementine has erased Joel from her memory, it becomes clear her impulsiveness runs deep. When Joel returns the favour and we explore his memories of her, it’s obvious that she’s not always stable; she’s emotionally volatile and unhappy when others don’t want to go along with her every excitable whim. She can swing from loving to unkind. She talks incessantly but quickly grows tired of clinginess. The fun, chaotic and unpredictable qualities that drew Joel to her are now what annoys him once he realises that she’s not always happy and bouncy. Her personality and emotions change as quickly as her hair: “I apply my personality in a paste.”
In many ways, Clementine is a proto Manic Pixie Dream Girl, arriving on the screen before the term was even coined. First mentioned by writer Nathan Rabin in 2007, a Manic Pixie Dream Girl is a fantasy female character who “exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures”. Clementine certainly fits the description when it comes to teaching the mousy Joel to embrace life. However, her character also serves to critique the box that women are often put into. Before beginning a relationship with Joel, she warns him that she’s not the cool girlfriend, “I’m telling you right off the bat, I’m high maintenance. If you wanna be with me, you’re with me.” She is definitively not down for whatever.
In her infamous monologue, she points out that she’s not interested in men who think she’s a concept, who think that she’s going to make them feel alive. “I’m just a fucked up girl looking for my own piece of mind. Don’t assign me yours.” The assertiveness that Kate Winslet brings to the character, as well as her confidence and complexity, show the audience that she means business. Clementine is not here to complete their fantasy of what a woman should be either. She is flawed, and she doesn’t need their expectations. She is not your manic pixie dream girl.
In Clementine, Kaufman and Winslet create a three-dimensional character who is still hurt when she finds out Joel erased her – even though she did it first. And Clementine is ready to work on their relationship, even if it’s not perfect, easy, or fun all of the time. A Clementine who is sorry but still unflinchingly herself and willing to let Joel be himself. And to go with her, a Joel who is willing to accept her as she is. A Joel who is willing to commit to the difficulty, not only of Clementine but of a real relationship and one that has to begin again.
