MTV turned 25 years old. Though it long ago ceased to be much of a cultural or musical force, it’s hard to deny that it has done more than any other media outlet to promote the development of the music video, thoroughly influencing an entire generation of filmmakers. Over the last few decades stars have emerged out of this world: Spike Jonze, Mark Romanek, Anton Corbijn, Bryan Barber and Jonathan Glazer have all made names for themselves in the four-minute format. Perhaps the most consistently exciting, creative and visually stimulating of the bunch, though, is the Frenchman Michel Gondry, whose fourth feature-length film, The Science of Sleep, opens in Washington tomorrow.
Gondry is a man of huge ideas that are, paradoxically, best enjoyed on a small scale. His work for The White Stripes, Radiohead, The Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack, Daft Punk and Björk in particular, reveals an unparalleled talent for capturing the absurdity and emotional resonance of the childlike. Even his television commercials—easily found on YouTube.com—demonstrate a remarkable mix of humor and pathos, all jammed into 30-second blocks. Yet when given free reign and a much broader palette, Gondry, like most of his music video ilk, has fallen a bit flat on the big screen.
Though his first film, Human Nature, was thoroughly disappointing, his follow-up, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, displayed a much more nuanced style and a more developed central voice. More impressively, he was able to gracefully integrate a trademark series of complex and often bizarre visual cues into the overall narrative. It demonstrated a growing talent, and for a director who has always spoken of his immature nature, this seemed a good sign.
This makes The Science of Sleep all the more disappointing, and the fault lies indisputably with Gondry. The film centers on Stephane (Gael Garcia Bernal), a young Francophile Mexican returning home to Paris in the wake of his father’s death. Stephane is, to put it lightly, a free spirit so uninhibited and free-thinking that he has trouble distinguishing between dreams and reality. Stephane falls for his neighbor, the gorgeous if slightly unkempt pianist Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and a catastrophic courtship ensues.
The film is, ultimately, a case of the parts exceeding the sum of the whole. Bernal and Gainsbourg both do good work, though they tend to be outshined by the ebullient Alain Chabat, who plays Guy, Stephane’s sex-obsessed coworker. Visually, the film has a few stunning moments, especially during Stephane’s dreams. They’re the sort of fanciful imaginings one expects of a small child: broad, simple, alternatingly beautiful and terrifying and full of cardboard boxes and cellophane.
The real problem is that, as a film, it never coalesces. Gondry, working without Eternal Sunshine screenwriter Charlie Kaufmann, is able to capture a few funny moments, but for the most part, his trilingual script fails to go anywhere and leaves the characters flat. Stephane’s quirkiness tows the line of psychosis, and though the audience is supposed to feel sympathy for him, after an hour he becomes exasperating. There’s a subtlety in distinguishing the enfant terrible from the just generally terrible, and it’s not clear that Gondry has the skill or inclination to do this. Stephanie, for her part, is contradictory and under-developed, while the brief interactions with Stephane’s mother seem mostly pointless.
Gondry is a fanciful, original and occasionally brilliant director. Perhaps one day he’ll be able to bring this sort of unbridled creativity to a full-length feature and make it work, but for now, The Science of Sleep leaves one thoroughly disappointed.
Science of Sleep opens on Friday at the E Street Cinema. Their address is 555 11th Street N.W.
