A man awakes disheveled; impulsively, he skips work, heading instead to the shore. On this chilly February day, a woman in orange, hair dyed blue, chats him up: she's Clementine, he's Joel, shy and sad; by day's end, he likes her. The next night she takes him to the frozen Charles River. After, as he drops her off, she asks to sleep at his place, and she runs up to get her toothbrush. Strange things occur: their meeting was not entirely chance, they have a history neither remembers. Our seeing how the lacunae came to be and their discovery of the memory loss take the rest of the film.

The title is quoted from the poem Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope (1688-1744). This poem was used in Charlie Kaufman's earlier project Being John Malkovich (1999).

Joel:
Constantly talking isn't necessarily communicating.

Crew or equipment visible: When Clementine and Joel see each other again at the diner near the beginning of the movie, the shadow of the camera is visible off to the left.

Written by James Warren
Performed by Beck
Beck appears courtesy of Geffen Records
Produced by Beck and Jon Brion