Beauty vs Beast: Won't You Remember Me
Monday, March 18, 2019 at 1:01PM Jason from MNPP here on this chilly March afternoon thinking of leaving it all behind and boarding a train out to Montauk -- tomorrow marks the 15th anniversary of one of the Great Films of the new century (née millenium), Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which rescrambled our brains for the first time on March 19th 2004, and we've never been the same since. Have you watched it lately? I watch it basically once per year, which guarantees I have one great big sobbing session at least once per year. Anyway we've already done one of our "Beauty vs Beast" contests for the film's leads before, so today we'll dive a little deeper into the film's exceedingly fine stable of supporting players -- on one side we have the delectably weaselly Patrick (Elijah Wood) and on the other the more-confused-by-the-minute Mary (Kirsten Dunst), who both enrich the film's main romantic thrust in surprising and sad ways...
PREVIOUSLY Y'all truly surprised me with last week's contest that pit Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool's lead lovers against one another -- Jamie Bell took the lead early on and never looked back, taking 65% at the end; it's very rare for actresses to lose here on TFE! Why do you think it happened this time? Said Mareko:
"I'm #TeamGloria in life (what an underrated talent) but lean toward #TeamPeter in this movie. Annette and Jamie really are sublime together, and isn't it interesting that she did back-to-back movies set in 1979? Imagine Dorothea Fields and Gloria Grahame in the same universe, living a mere hour away from each other!"
Reader Comments (19)
This is a great battle because they are both terrible people.
I give the advantage to Mary because she is just a lovesick kid who can't get over her main crush. Patrick is just freaking creepy, but in a non-threatening way.
Puh-lease! This isn't even a contest. Patrick is one of the most ANNOYING characters in movie history. Loved it when Clementine screams, "Get the fuck away!"
Mary all the way.
This should be no contest — not sure if Patrick has any redeeming qualities. Wish you’d chosen Mark Ruffalo’s character instead!
I considered both Mark Ruffalo and Tom Wilkinson's characters but I think that Elijah's character is actually more interesting than both of theirs. Yes he's a creep but he's a good creep, a creep who really gets under your skin. That's effective acting!
Kirsten Dunst Forever
Team Mary. Both of these characters have their flaws, but Patrick is using the technology to manipulate people. Mary at least realized that what she and the whole group has done is morally wrong and wants to return memories to the clients. without Mary's action, we don't get the beautiful ending.
Mary.
Did Dunst deserve a supporting actress nomination for this?
Mary. Just another performance Kirsten Dunst should have been nominated for at the Oscars
Duh... Mary. Patrick is just creepy.
@Brad-Dunst should've gotten a Best Supporting Actress nod. In fact, she should've had a few Oscar nods to her credit.
Mary. Kirsten Dunst is so dang great in this and triggers my sobbing fit for the last third.
There's a deleted scene on the dvd with her listening to her tape with some details I think are kinda essential to her arc. I keep forgetting it's not actually in the final cut every time I watch it.
Mary all the way! This movie marked my beggining as a movie geek. Has it been only 15 years?
Mary, Mary, Mary. No contest. I think Kirsten Dunst's performance, as a supporting actor, was perhaps more impressive than Kate Winslet's with the limited time she got.
Mary's arc was devastating, and Dunst (no surprises) was heartbreaking in the role. Sadly—just another Oscar nod that was denied Dunst who should have at least 6 and 1 win by now (her turns in Melancholia, The Beguiled, Bachelorette, All Good Things, The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette, The Cat's Meow, Eternal Sunshine, Interview with the Vampire were all Oscar-worthy performances)
There's no even a competiton here, Mary all the way...Kirsten Dunst just add another brilliantly layered performance to her name,,,totally agree that she should have had a couple of Oscar nods by now especially for her career best in "Melancholia" (easily replacing Meryl or Glenn) and her breakthrough turn in "Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles" (although, 1995 was a tough year, all the nominees just feel right). And personally I just love her work in "On the Road" , " The Virgin Suicides" and "Mona Lisa Smile "... however, thought "The Beguiled" was a pointless remake, incredibly dull and boring, all atmosphere no substance.
i've been lacuna-ed! i loved this film but i remember nothing about these two characters
Mary. Although she does play games with Mark Ruffalo's heart, Patrick is just creepy.
Listen, I adore Dunst as much as anybody and expected her to win this in a blow-out and voted for her myself, but does no one have kind words for Elijah Wood's performance? I think he is super in the movie, just epitomizing a kind of delusional asshole who thinks he's a funny nice guy -- I re-watched the movie last night and every time the camera's on him he does something so reliably smarmy he makes you HATE this guy with such ease.
But the joke is he's only a tick creepier than Mark Ruffalo's character, who played ignorant but clearly knew something had happened between Dunst & Wilkinson and pretended to be better than Patrick when he was doing the same thing (just without the panty stealing)
I'm interested to read why anybody voted for Patrick except out of Pity. He's gotta be one of modern cinema's most unlikable side characters.
I vote for Kirsten Dunst but
I feel that Mark Ruffalo would have given her more competition. I think that Kirsten Dunst should have some Oscar nominations, definitely Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind should not be one of them.
I vote for Kirsten Dunst but
I feel that Mark Ruffalo would have given her more competition. I think that Kirsten Dunst should have some Oscar nominations, definitely Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind should not be one of them.