MovieChat Forums > Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Discussion > Clementine is too much

Clementine is too much

posted 9 years ago by marcellis_robinson
24 replies | jump to latest

I could imagine being in a relationship with her for several weeks if she was great in bed, but after that it'd be time to move on. She's too high maintenance, too selfish, too much goddamn drama to put up with for more than one month. A girl like that is a real f_ckin headache, but she isn't unlike a lot of other American women. Kate Winslet shows a lot of skill to portray such a character. She spent her first 20 years in England, so she had to learn how to act like a crazy American bitch.

[–] TexasJack (12516) 6 years ago

I've known many Clementines. Constant, pointless drama.

[–] BourbonKing (5787) 5 years ago

When you take a step back and look at EVERY character in this movie it turns out that ALL of THEM have huge shortfalls. The reason I say that is because of their association with the mind-eraser corporation and their willingness to accept its effects on Joel and Clementine. Even Joel's friends were in on it to protect him from his self-destructive self. The Doctor and his wife, Kirsten Dunce, The Hulk, and Frodo...all of them were fucked up mentally.

The movie though was a great ride and it really makes you think about why we as humans try to run away from ourselves. It has a good message in the end that ultimately you can't change who you are inside, no matter how much pretense you use to cover it up or mind-sweeping you indulge in to forget it.

[–] acidraindrop (3055) 3 years ago

Bingo. Every relationship in the movie is fucked because so many of those fuckers are really messed up people lol.

[–] Otter (24464) 3 years ago

Yeah, the movie wasn't about presenting the audience with someone to love, or lust after, it was about how people deal with the difficulties of imperfect relationships, as well as how memories and experiences shape our personalities.

Both leading characters are very flawed people that it's hard to love, I don't know that any of us would want to stick with either of them before long, and Clementine's role in the drama is as someone who takes extremely drastic steps to get over another damn breakup. In order for her to take those drastic post-breakup measures and launch the plot, she had to be a person who likes extremes and extreme measures, not your dream girl.

[–] acidraindrop (3055) 3 years ago

Indeed. Joel is a bag of problems as well. People are not wrong to comment how high maintenance or selfish Clem is (hell, she knows it, and she tells him multiple times), but I think you hit it on the head: few of us would really want to stick with either of them, based on what we see in the movie.

I like the fact these weren't idealized relationships because for me, it's exactly what you said, the movie is about how people deal with imperfect relationship dynamics. I don't think it's optimistic or pessimistic...just more of...this is how it is. Love is challenging. May not work, but you gotta try.

Btw, fun fact, I don't know if you've seen the deleted scenes, but I think the implication is that Joel sorta breaks up with Naomi twice, and both times, it's because he meets Clem. That valentines phone call he makes to Clem, after he leaves her apartment, and she's all like "well I guess we're married then" and he's all smiling and shit. He actually makes that phone call immediately after calling Naomi back (he was missing the whole day, and she didn't know what happened to him).

The shift in his emotion from call to call is great, and it gives a different perspective as to why he felt so uncomfortable in her apartment, esp when she's coming on to him. I presume that these scenes were deleted so that the audience would feel more positively about Joel's character. Which is a shame because I think it led people...well...overidealize Joel in the theatrical cut when he's not exactly your dream boy either.

[–] Wuchak (8847) 5 years ago

She's too high maintenance, too selfish, too much goddamn drama to put up with for more than one month.

The main point of the movie is that Joel & Clem understand the flaws about each other which they don't like -- including what you criticize about Clem -- but it's "Okay." They understand this, accept it, and happily continue on together regardless. That's true love.

[–] Ladronmc (176) 5 years ago

That's the thing. She's adventurous, a bit wild and the type of girl that was a change for Jim' character. Incidentally, why on earth would you move on from someone who was great in bed. That never gets old, in my opinion.

Having said that, it was clear that their dynamic was dysfunctional and -to your point -she came across as very high maintenance and not the easiest of individuals to live with.

[–] ADBruno1985 (3572) 4 years ago

We all know people like her, I had a roommate like her once, just so quick to blow up and get intense over anything, overreacting and not allowing you to explain, because she insists on keeping with the misunderstanding.

[–] Otter (24464) 3 years ago

I can see why Joel and Clementine would be drawn to each other. Sexual attraction to be sure, but also, the withdrawn and dour Joel appreciates her boldness and capacity for enjoying life, and she appreciates a man who likes her for who she is, and isn't just looking for a piece of ass or someone who's already planned out what his ideal girlfriend should be and who is looking for a real person who seems to match his ideas*.

Of course it'd never last, they dour Joel and the spitfire Clementine are going to get on each other's nerves after a while and it'll all blow up in a big fight, but the point of the film isn't about an ideal or successful romance. It's about how our experiences make us who we are, even the bad ones. A friend told her ex-husband years after a bitter divorce "If it hadn't been for you, I would not be who I am today", and well. That's the point of the film, the importance of memory and experience, not the doomed romance.

- - -

* Women do this too, they plan out the sort of person they want to get serious with, and won't let reality compromise their vision. Anyone who does this is doomed to a life of disappointment.

[–] Gd5150 (11952) 3 years ago

They’re like 2 puzzle pieces. He the stable shy awkward introvert. And she the outgoing basket case with daddy issues.

Eventually though she’d want someone who’d want to go out with her and be able to handle himself publicly without her having to constantly hold his hand.

He’d just want to be a loser gamer. She being the “gamer girl” with 10 zillion simps and an OF account.

Love this movie because it’s so damn real.

[–] looper007 (1158) 2 years ago

We all have different tastes in people that's what makes life so interesting. Clementine is who Joel connects too with, she makes his life exciting. We've all seen that when a friend gets with someone, who you can't see why he or she would be into that person cause you wouldn't give that person the time of day. But that friend is so head over heels in love with them.

For me personally, Clementine would be too much for me. She be way too demanding and way too much drama to deal with someone like that.