Charlie Kaufman is best known as an acclaimed screenwriter, but he's also directed three films, the most recent of which is the Netflix film Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, starring Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey.
Both films explore the nuances in a seemingly ideal relationship, and both of them play with time. The Netflix film almost becomes a horror film when Jake takes his girlfriend to meet his parents, while Eternal is more of a surreal sci-fi in which the focal lovers erase memories of each other. But when put side by side, which Kaufman movie is the best and which one is more heartbreaking?
ENDING THINGS: It Has More Believable Characters
Perhaps it's because of the more modern setting, or the lack of sci-fi elements, or just the way they're written. Either way, Jake and his girlfriend feel more like real people than Clementine and Joel do.
Clementine is wild, loud and larger-than-life, inadvertently becoming the codifier for the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype. Meanwhile, Joel's emotions are too easily accessible for a real person. Of course, that's the point, but viewers may find it easier to identify with the characters of Iain Reid's creation, who behave more like people in real life than movie characters (minus the horror elements).
ETERNAL SUNSHINE: It's Easier To Comprehend
Though the film incorporates sci-fi elements, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind is much simpler in its plot - which is saying something, given how tangled it is - than I'm Thinking Of Ending Things.
The story isn't exactly linear, but it's still easier to grasp than the latter, which defies constraints of space and time. The characters of Eternal pretty much lay everything out on the page, while Jake and Lucy hardly ever say what they mean - in fact, they're not even "real" to begin with.
ENDING THINGS: It's More Nuanced
By no means is Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind simple or lacking depth, but it's not quite as nuanced and layered as the Netflix film.
Perhaps because I'm Thinking Of Ending Things is based on a novel, Kaufman had more material to squeeze into the lengthy film. His Netflix film explores many themes that extend far beyond this couple's relationship in ways that Eternal couldn't.
ETERNAL SUNSHINE: It Has A Faster Pace
While by no means boring, I'm Thinking Of Ending Things does seem to drag on a bit, especially on the first watch. The film takes place in the course of a single evening, meaning viewers have to sit through many confusing and sometimes tedious conversations between its two main characters.
Meanwhile, the Winslet and Carrey movie tells the story of a series of events. Things are constantly changing, and the age of time is marked by Clementine's hair. Though scrambled in a non-linear fashion, there's a clear progression of events and time in Eternal as compared to a surreal endless night.
ENDING THINGS: It's More Unique
While memory loss has been explored in numerous pop culture texts, whatever I'm Thinking Of Ending Things tampers with is pretty unique. Not many films or stories like it have ever been created before, even if they do have similar elements and themes. The use of magical realism in particular does wonders for the story and really helps to get the message across.
That being said, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind is also unique in its own ways, but perhaps not as innovative as Kaufman's latest. While it's hard to pin down what I'm Thinking Of Ending Things really is, Eternal can be classified as a surrealist deconstruction of a romantic comedy.
ETERNAL SUNSHINE: It's Considerably Less Gloomy
This isn't to say that this film doesn't have its fair share of heartbreak and tragedy, but the overall tone of the film is nowhere near as dark and bleak as I'm Thinking Of Ending Things is.
The Netflix film takes place almost entirely at night, already itself a gloomy time of day. Its color palette is darker, as are the themes of aging, death, suicide, and time. Meanwhile, Clementine and Joel live in a bright, colorful world of many settings, and their romance adds a lot of light to the film.
ENDING THINGS: It Leaves An Impact
Maybe it's because of the film's strangeness or it's because of a bizarre and somewhat bleak ending, but I'm Thinking Of Ending Things lingers with viewers more than Kaufman's earlier film.
The conclusion is open-ended, but it also doesn't leave too much to be explored. Jessie Buckley's character doesn't even exist in reality, nor does the version of Jake viewers see, so these characters don't have a future. But the concluding thirty minutes are so bizarre and uncanny that it stays with the audience long after watching it.
ETERNAL SUNSHINE: It Has Higher Emotional Stakes
For all intents and purposes, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind is a romance, where I'm Thinking Of Ending Things presents a couple that viewers know will not survive the film.
The audience should be rooting for Clementine and Joel, and they do, but they're not supposed to want Jake to live out his fantasy with Lucy/Lucia/Louisa/etc. Clementine and Joel's undoing is heartbreaking, and thus the film is worth watching for its emotional payoff.
ENDING THINGS: It's Fun To Watch
Besides the long, drawn-out sequences of driving through a blizzard, this film is exciting and fun to watch. One never knows what's around the coming curve in the road, and they're constantly at the edge of their seats waiting to see what's next.
All of the actors give incredible performances, but the most memorable might just be from Jake's parents, played by Toni Collette and David Thewlis. In addition, the film is rife with references to other pop culture texts, citing musicals, poems, film critics, and more. The end offers a wild twist into musical theatre territory, as well as magical realism in the form of a cartoon pig.
ETERNAL SUNSHINE: It's Surprisingly Hopeful
Despite everything that happens over the course of its runtime, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind somehow proves to be more hopeful for its characters. Also, the message it's sending is much more optimistic.
I'm Thinking Of Ending Things presumably ends with the janitor's suicide or death, while the fantasy version of himself wins something like a Nobel Prize while Jessie Buckley's character proudly applauds. But Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind gives viewers hope for the real versions of Clementine and Joel, not only as a couple but as individuals too.
