The beginning of a potential romantic relationship is filled with a combination of wish fulfillment, excitement, fantasy, and fear, and that's something that Michel Gondry's film The Science of Sleep knows all too well. It's the sort of movie that makes you think about those golden couple of days when that girl who lives next to you has the potential to be the one, and then the two months afterwards, when you've forgotten all about her, except in that weird dream you just had.
I put off seeing this movie because I was not a fan of Gondry's most popular effort, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. While that film had many fans, I felt that the director was too subservient to the weird ideas of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, who is often strange for the sake of being strange. There are many similarities between the two films, not the least of which is that they are both about slightly eccentric protagonists on a strange romantic journey (Jim Carrey there, Gael Garcia Bernal here). But the difference is that The Science of Sleep puts its characters first and its quirks second. You get involved their lives, and the visual tricks are fun tool for illustrating the characters lives, not a distraction.
Bernal plays a good natured but somewhat socially awkward man with named of Stephan Miroux. Stephane lives in Mexico but has returned to France to visit his landlady mother (Miou-Miou) after the death of his father. He gets a job working at an advertising and firm and keeps himself occupied with his bored surroundings by fantasizing. It's never quite made clear how much of the "unrealistic" material we see is a fantasy or dream (more on that later). Stephane later meets one of his mother's tenants Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsburg). Although he is initially interested in Stephanie's friend, Stephane quickly falls for the one person who appears capable of understanding his perspective on life. She also develops a genuine affection and bond with him, although she says she's just interested in being friends.
Most of this material is not particularly original, but what makes the film come alive is the unique treatment given by Gondry. He uses stop-motion animation techniques to give Stephan's an original and endearing look that CGI just cannot give. The director also avoids the temptation of falling into the "what is reality" trap. I think we are supposed to assume that much of what we see is an abstract representation of Stephan's thoughts, not a literal look at what is objectively happening.
As I said earlier, the movie is helped by the fact that it is a character study above everything. In a way, it is sad that the couple cannot make their genuine bond into a real romantic relationship, but Stephanie is probably right in stating that they should be just friends. Despite the fact that she has a wonderful imagination, it's hard to see how such a down to Earth realist could have a successful relationship with a head in the clouds dreamer like Stephan. Although I will not reveal the ending of the film, it may be true that every unsuccessful romance has two endings: the real one, which has a definite date and time, and the "what if" romance in one's mind, which exists until the person fades from memory, or in those intangible early morning dreams of things past.
The Science of Sleep (2005)