The Science of Sleep

Gael Garcia Bernal plays Stephane, a man who has vivid dreams and daydreams to escape current problems including his mundane new job. He develops a friendship with a coworker named Guy who becomes a father figure. He meets a creative woman named Stephanie, who lives across the hallway in their apartment complex. Stephane deals with his disappointing new job and romantic failures by daydreaming more and escaping reality.

Director Michel Gondry cowrote the script, which is setup to let his directing run wild. He employs stop-motion animation, rear-screen projection, and numerous other tricks to create Stephane's vivid dreams. Reversing film is used to good effect. The dream sequences are striking, particularly an elaborate city created by paper and blocks. But after a while it's like watching the Sledgehammer video over and over again.

Gondry's visual style served him well in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, where Charlie Kaufman wrote the script. Kaufman is missed here. Gondry felt Kaufman received too much of the credit for that movie. In the Science of Sleep, there is no science, just a daydreaming "artist" who doesn't want to face reality. OK for a 4 minute video, not a feature film. At some point, Stephane goes from creative and interesting to pathetic and creepy. Still, there's enough interesting thoughts and technique on display here to sort of enjoy it. B-

Medical mistakes: Only the common misconception that schizophrenia means two personalities. (The schism is between the racing thoughts on the inside at the flat affect on the outside.)