Overcoming Prejudice
by Brendan Berry
Going to see a movie with a certain mindset is one thing, but going to see a movie with a negative mindset is another. I must admit that I had serious qualms about Michael Gondry’s Science of Sleep before seeing it due to the fact that I wasn’t the biggest fan of his previous piece of work, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. In the end it would seem all my worrying and debate was pointless. Gondry’s film not only surpassed my exceedingly low expectations, but gave me a movie that I could say was worth going to see again.
Getting over my cinematic prejudice and making my way to the theatre to see this movie proved to be a wise choice. Science of Sleep proved to be worth the trip and worth my time, showing that you can’t judge a movie by its director. The film focuses on a young graphic artist named Stephane, played by Gael García Bernal. Stephane is tricked into returning to his hometown of Paris by his mother claiming to have a job that caters to his “creative” talents, but arrives to find that the workload entails typesetting calendars. Besides the creativity the job lacks, the annoying employees just make matters worse. Aside from problems at work, Stephane, in a very un-stereotypic fashion, falls for his neighbor Stephanie, played by the delightfully real Charlotte Gainsbourg. The interesting point of the movie is Stephane’s trouble with deciphering real life from his dream world that he is constantly escaping into at all hours of the day and night. This oasis from the everyday problems that he faces begins to take a toll, not only on him, but on Stephanie as well, as he becomes more and more unpredictable. Under all of this, Stephane doesn’t realize that he is driving away the girl he loves; in his mind he believes that they are, and will be, together. As Stephanie is driven farther and farther away, Stephane’s dream world and reality cross paths more and more, making it difficult for even the audience to establish which is which.
Gondry’s visual attitude toward the direction of the film is one of the strongest aspects of the movie. His playful and eccentric imagery throughout the film give us an insight deeper into Stephane’s mind and how it works. Gondry employs many different camera tricks that enhance the visual aspects of the film, truly giving the audience an escape from reality, and in a sense, an escape from the everyday film. The plot stands out entirely as a remarkable and refreshingly different representation of a boy-meets-girl, boy-falls-for-girl love story. Bernal adds to the vast spectrum of roles he can master, doing an applause-worthy job of portraying this eccentric, hyperactive ball of energy. His performance is comical, earnest and connects with the audience on a level that most actors in this day and age cannot do. Gainsbourg is so compassionate and unnaturally natural that she could walk off the screen and move in next door to you at any second. Gondry’s Sleep has this aura of genuineness about it that even other contemporary independent films don’t possess. For all the complaining I did and the misgivings about seeing this film, I am glad I didn’t let my dislike of one film prevent me from enjoying another that turned out to be one the best films I’ve seen all year.
