This 2004 Hit Movie Is a Perfect Severance Replacement Everyone Forgot About
Erasing memories was a trend that existed long before Apple TV’s sci-fi came around.
An addictive drama with an entangled storyline, Severance is back on track with its second season, but the show’s new instalment is still not enough for those who don’t really enjoy a week-long wait before the next episode is dropped.
Luckily, Severance isn’t the only tricky series that makes its viewer’s mind explore some physical possibilities that actually never seemed a real thing anyway. The streaming services have plenty of options that deal with the same kind of themes, but everyone just keeps ignoring a classic movie that probably served as Severance’s biggest inspiration.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Talked About Altering One’s Memories Way Before Severance
Released back in 2004, the movie seems to have a fascinating resemblance to Severance when it comes to both projects’ main idea. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind stars Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet as Joel Barish and Clementine Kruczynski who, having made it through a painful breakup, decide to undergo a procedure that will allow them to erase all their memories of each other.
The movie’s deep psychological context mixed with sci-fi and romcom elements eventually earned it a spot among the best films of the century, with Eternal Sunshine becoming a cult classic and a forever favorite whose legacy lives on more than 20 years after its release.
Still, Eternal Sunshine and Severance Explore Same Topic Differently
Even though Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind does seem like something Severance would eventually derive from, the latter’s plot line adapts a different point of view for a very similar matter.
Focusing on the psychological aspect of its couple’s decision to go separate ways, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind dives deeper into the significance of love in the characters’ life and whether erasing their memories of someone will in fact have a good impact on their future.
In its turn, Severance is a more “work-life balance” show, with some of the characters undergoing a procedure that will just separate their work memories from personal ones, without erasing either of them completely.
Still, both Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Severance are dealing with the same kind of problem: trying to see whether memories indeed shape our personality and how important those mind pieces from a seemingly unimportant life event can actually be.