Weird Science

We were disappointed. And not just because we had psyched ourselves up too much for it. You think- a Michel Gondry film with Gael Garcia Bernal. What could go wrong? Quite a bit apparently.

What made Eternal Sunshine one of our favorite movies is that despite its lovely impish charm, at its core, it has a soul- a poignant, and oftentimes devastating narrative. It's about a love so hardwired into your very being that even modern science can't reach it. You may be able to erase memories, but you can't erase destiny. Science of Sleep on the other, in Jude's words, is a victim of its own cutesiness. Without the origami mind of Charlie Kaufmann, Michel Gondry's writing and directing exude more whimsy than anything else. It's charming for sure, and the whole stop-motion animation and papier-mâché props are delightful for their childlikeness; but at the end of the day, that's about all there is. I guess I understand his whole the unconscious as governed by its own perverse logic and the blurring of dream and reality spiel, but like Stephane's one-second time machine, the film is interesting for that moment, but then nothing much more.

It wasn't without its redeeming moments though: the scenes of Stephane directing his own dream sequences as if it were a TV show were definitely TiVo-worthy; I love Charlotte Gainsborough's crisp French/ British accent and slightly kooky disposition; how can you not be enamoured by water made from cellophane and a felt-cloth Noah's Ark of handmade trees?; and like Eternal Sunshine, what's a Michel Gondry film without a sweet soundtrack? This track is particularly enchanting, resonating the dream-like whimsy that is so much of the movie.

So ultimately, watching Science of Sleep was a lot like eating cotton candy- it conjured sweet memories of a childhood suspended, with moments of laughter and delight- nothing particularly sad or upsetting; but in the same measure, because of that, like cotton candy, it was also neither very substantial, nor terribly satisfying.