Tools of Characterization
Characterization in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Clothing
Okay, there's not exactly an elaborate costume design in Eternal Sunshine, but that doesn't mean that the costumes doesn't matter. Check out the outfits we see Joel wearing: they're always very tight, so much so that if he did up one more button, he'd die from asphyxiation. The is the kind of tight that makes you think, "That guy is really uptight."
On top of that, Joel's green sweater with the white undershirt makes him look something between formal and casual that can only be called uncomfortable. Even the jacket he wears doesn't have a very relaxed feeling to it.
But then there's Clem, whose color palette is always a healthy, complementary mixture of blues and oranges. At first, we see her with blue hair and a bright orange sweatshirt with blue sleeve thingies (that's their official name, right?). She has that thrift store, don't-care kind of style, maybe an anti-style style. At any rate, it's definitely not tight—it's loose and carefree and comfortable. It's also memorable and unique, the opposite of Joel's nondescript style.
Thoughts and Opinions
Some of the first things we get in Eternal Sunshine are Joel's thoughts on a bunch of topics. He thinks that Valentine's Day "is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap," and that "sand is overrated; it's just tiny little rocks." Yeah, he's not exactly a glass-half-full kind of guy. Then he goes on to talk about how he can't make eye contact with a woman he doesn't know, and he also tells us that he falls in love with every girl who shows him attention and maybe he should get back with his ex… because that's probably a good idea.
We're only a few minutes into the movie, and we're already in Joel's head before we're, well, really in Joel's head.
The first difference we notice between Joel and Clementine is that Joel is very shy, while Clem is definitely not afraid to introduce herself. On the train we see that while Joel's thoughts all stay safely in his mind, Clem's mind is very close to her mouth. Like Joel, she's actually quite self-deprecating, talking about how her personality is Agent Orange and how she doesn't want to be nice or be called nice, because, truth be told, she's really "a vindictive b****."
Unfortunately for Joel, when Clem does force him to voice his opinions, it doesn't go so well. He asks her, for example, "Do you really think you could take care of a kid?" (to which she responds that he can find an antique rocking chair to die in). He tells her that "constantly talking isn't necessarily communicating," and that her drinking is "pathetic" and "irresponsible," two statements that—not surprisingly—don't make her too happy.
Names
Joel Barish. Say the name. Let it swim around in your mouth; feel it against your teeth. What does it taste like to you? Is it crazy? Fun? Exciting? Exotic? Hmm, not exactly. Doesn't it sound a bit boring? A bit stale? The first name sort of drags along, not sure if it's a diphthong or two separate vowels. The low vowels at the beginning of both names sound depressed, and the lethargic "ish" at the end doesn't really help. Joel Barish… even if you didn't know the guy, you could probably get a good picture of the kind of person he might be.
Are we reading too much into his name? Maybe, but that's our job. But don't be so quick to judge: let's compare the name Joel Barish to the name Clementine Kruczynski. Now that's a name with some zing to it. Doesn't it sound a lot more energized and interesting? It has a kind of cadence, but each syllable seems to have its own emphasis.
And Clem's name isn't just about its sound: it also means something. The name Clementine comes from the word "clemency," which means "mercy." But Clem doesn't think this meaning describes her; she's more the Agent Orange type, at least according to her. She's also given her hair color nicknames like Tangerine and Clemato. Her names are, quite literally, colorful, just like her hair, and just like her personality.