Script Analysis: “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” — Part 2: Plot

Read the script for the critically acclaimed 2004 film and analyze it all this week.

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this bi-weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule:

Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
Tuesday: Plot
Wednesday: Characters
Thursday: Themes
Friday: Dialogue
Saturday: Takeaways

Today: Plot.

In every scene, something happens. A plot point is a scene or group of scenes in which something major happens, an event that impacts the narrative causing it to turn in a new direction.

A relevant anecdote. Years ago, I was on the phone with a writer discussing a script project. My son Will, who was about four years old at the time, must have been listening to me talking about “plot points” during the conversation because after I hung up, he asked, “Daddy, what’s a plop point?”

That’s in effect what a plot point is. It’s an event that ‘plops’ into the narrative and changes its course. So when you think Plot Point, think Plop Point!

The value of this exercise:

• To identify the backbone of the story structure.
• To examine each major plot point and see how it is effective as an individual event.
• To analyze the major plot points in aggregate to determine why they work together as the central plot.

This week: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. You may download a PDF of February 4, 2003 draft here.

Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, story by Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth

IMDb plot summary: When their relationship turns sour, a young couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories.

Writing Exercise: Go through the scene-by-scene breakdown of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and identify the major plot points. Post your thoughts in comments and we’ll see if we can come up with a consensus.

Major kudos to Andrew Lightfoot for doing this week’s scene-by-scene breakdown.

To download a PDF of the breakdown for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, go here.

For Part 1, to read the Scene-By-Scene Breakdown discussion, go here.

I hope to see you in the RESPONSE section about this week’s script: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

For 70 movie scripts which members of the GITS community have read and analyzed, go here.