"The Science of Sleep" sends us deep into the twisted synapses of Michel Gondry's mind. The movie is a visual carousel revolving around a shy man's dissatisfaction with his work and his world. Though the love story may not be as fulfilling as Gondry's "Eternal Sunshine," it retains the same quirkiness and enjoyable imagery.
The film opens with Stephane (Gael García Bernal, "The Motorcycle Diaries") conducting a one-man band and television show. Playing to cardboard cameras, he announces his plan to show us how dreams are prepared. But although he is the bright center of the universe in his sleep, he must wake up eventually.
Lured back to Paris by his mother, Stephane takes a job typesetting for a small calendar company. It is not long before the film delves into his free-roaming imagination. When he meets his neighbor Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg, "21 Grams"), his waking and dream worlds become equally obsessed.
Any film about sleep is certain to have disconnected events and unexplained occurrences. This causes "The Science of Sleep" to have a slight lack of shape and flow to its narrative. Stephane does not make many profound, life-altering discoveries, nor does he seem to have the ambition to seek them out. The film focuses more on his need to vent artistically. The effect is a sort of comedic freshness with a few thought-provoking moments mixed in.
Gondry is able to illuminate Stephane's desires and inadequacies through his dreams with humorous and sometimes haunting, imagery. Unfortunately for Stephane, his obsession with his own dreams begins to drive him further from those desires. He begins to lose a firm grasp on what he is actually doing in real life and his actions during sleep. His lack of focus is exacerbated by the other characters' personalities.
At the film's midpoint, Gondry begins to show that Stephane's co-workers and neighbors are as strange as he is. They're motivated by the same desire for destruction and disorder as Stephane. This may cause viewers, along with the film's protagonist, to be uncertain what is reality and what is fantasy. This is Gondry's genius at work. His films are an escape from reality, if nothing else.
At its core, "The Science of Sleep" is a visual experience. Without the use of computer graphics, Gondry is able to create a world clearly distinct from reality. Whether using stop-motion animation, cellophane collages or perspective-shifting props, he creates a clear boundary between the real and unreal. Even if you are physically incapable of producing laughter this film will enthrall you. The whole experience seems familiar and foreign at the same time.
The characters are also effortlessly unnatural. Is it likely a real person would conceptualize and draw a "disaster of the month" calendar? Probably not, but it doesn't seem too out of the ordinary for Stephane. Gondry's premise lends itself to this sort of behavior. He is capable of infusing each and every aspect of his projects with the same charm and style. Whereas, in lesser hands, a story like this could come off like a film student's wet dream.
"The Science of Sleep" is by no means a perfect film. Stephane's uniqueness and creative talent build a good deal of empathy, but toward the end of the movie, he comes off as slightly pathetic and unwilling to accept any form of reality in order to be happy. Gondry doesn't seem to make any overarching commentary on his protagonist or about dreams in general, but whether or not this was done intentionally remains uncertain.
These minor adequacies, however, do not overpower the main strength of this film — humor. Gondry's light-hearted attitude affects everything from the visuals to the dialogue. He takes a simple love story and makes it fun, without the need for clichés.
Grade: 4 out of 5
Starring:
Gael Garcia Bernal
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Playing at:
Hilldale Theatre