The Science of Sleep

8 out of 10

It's been a while and I really meant to write something about a couple of films, just nothing seemed worthy of more than a few words. Godzilla Final Wars featured a flying submarine with a giant drill on the front and, obviously, Godzilla, but that was about it. The Protector had Tony Jaa and elephants, but was grainy and underexposed. The Illusionist was confusing and poorly paced; I still found it entertaining because of Edward Norton and Philip Glass. Now, the first of this fall's many potentially great films are beginning to be released and I should keep up better.

Originally scheduled at Cinema 21 a month ago, Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep finally opened in nationwide limited release, i.e. more than New York and L.A. but only one or two screens in bigger cities. Bummer about the delay, but it doubled the time for the trailer to run, resulting in a theater full of hipsters who, judging by the amount of laughter, liked the film immensely. Personally, my reaction was a little different.

As often happens, this may be due to my unreasonably high expectations. In my defense, Gondry has more than earned them. He made a brilliant series of experimental films pretending to be music videos that establish a unique and compelling visual style. His first feature, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, was a stunning work. Hard science-fiction (as opposed to sci-fi as a platform for action or adventure) is rare enough, but instead of philosophy like 2001 or Blade Runner, Spotless Mind offers emotional depths. At the core is whether the characters (or an audience member) would rather remember the joyful moments of a relationship or forget the pain of losing it. Gondry new film has his fingerprints all over it and explores similar themes of bittersweet, but it's also very different. Spotless Mind was equal parts Philip K Dick novel and Smiths album; The Science of Sleep is Peewee Herman goes French New Wave. But in a good way.

On the surface, The Science of Sleep appears to be a much happier film, examining the beginning of a relationship rather than the end. For a while at the beginning, The Science of Sleep plays like a quirky variety of Romantic Comedy (or Romedy) with really unique production design. The romedy elements include a ridiculous meet-cute scene and foolish mistaken assumptions that seem unworthy of the narrative style. This involves spending a huge amount of time in the protagonist's dreams. Stephane, played by Gael Garcia Bernal, dreams of having a television talk show where he can provide commentary on real-life events with a surprising degree of logic and lucidity. When a gorgeous girl moves in next door, he initially likes her friend, but the audience has already fallen for Stephanie, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg, Serge's daughter.

Stephane's vivid subconscious allows for a complex and nuanced production design based around an indie-arts-and-crafts aesthetic. When blown up to fill his dreamscape, the amateurish technique of Stephane's artwork becomes a surrealist playground. The cardboard cars and cotton-ball ski-slopes are effective ways of setting the scene within a dream, where the abstract notion of a place or object is more important than its exact appearance. The design also informs us about Stephane's artistic approach. The ubiquitous cardboard tubes and boxes present not only a Do-It-Yourself approach, but also impatience severe enough to preclude the use of papier-mâché.

After the early tease that this will be a happy love story, Science of Sleep shifts into a more realistic and melancholy romance. Given how Stephane's perspective dominates, the relationship is formed in his fantasies more than real life. That's never a good sign. Just because he's Stephane and she's Stephanie doesn't mean they'll make a good couple. Romedy gimmicks are powerful devices, even on the characters. When shoved into the real world, they usually just create problems. Bounce that off Stephane's tenuous grasp on reality and there's heartache all around. Every event results in a net loss of happiness for the characters involved, but the movie, and Stephane-inside-the-dream, remains optimistic.

It could get relentlessly sad and depressing if it wasn't so evenly tempered with humor. Not everyone will laugh throughout; I was part of the morose minority, but I found it thoroughly amusing. Spotless Mind reveled in the bittersweet to create catharsis; Science of Sleep is far more balanced. The humor and absurdity of Stephane's dreams keeps things from getting too heavy, so the film is less exhausting to watch and more likely to please. Science of Sleep is the Beatles' Help and Spotless Mind is Revolver. And while I would never dispute Revolver being the better album, I think Help is more accessible and probably more enjoyable.

Directed and Written by Michel Gondry; Starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Viewed on 24Sep2006 at Cinema 21

posted by Jesse Zander Corum @ 1:29 PM