Film Studies Journalism Coursework Article One Review of The Science of Sleep in the style of Empire magazine

has seemingly blurred these two conceptions his whole life. It’s quite a confusing movie at times, not unlike Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and several of Gondry’s stunning acclaimed music videos. After being fooled into returning home to France by his French mother following his Mexican father’s death, Stéphane meets his new neighbour’s friend Zoe by injuring his hand whilst attempting to help her movers carry his neighbour’s piano (which ends up down the stairs and on the pavement), and it is clear that an interesting relationship is forming. Stéphane is clearly immediately attracted to Zoé, though later discovers she is unattainable, and Zoé’s strange friend Stéphanie (Stéphane’s neighbour, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg), is noticeably interested in Stéphane, creating an odd triangle between the three of them.In terms of character development, the only character whose back story is mentioned throughout is Stéphane, as his mother is also featured. She knows her son has always had trouble distinguishing dreams from reality, and is seen discussing this with her boyfriend. Stéphanie mentions her landlord negatively, before she knows Stéphane actually lives there and is actually her son. This is because Stéphane panics upon first meeting Stéphane and Zoé, unintentionally lies about why he is in the house, and pretends he does not live next door for the majority of the film. This shows a spontaneous character who often makes mistakes by following impulsive thoughts, as sometimes he thinks he’s in a dream so there will be no consequences.The love triangle between the three main characters develops familiarly, with Stéphane moving his affections on to Stéphanie when he realises he cannot have Zoé, and Stéphanie seeming to reject Stéphane’s newfound appreciation for her. This creates an engrossing and engaging ‘will they won’t they’ plotline, with a bizarre outcome in the end.  With French, Spanish and English all being spoken amongst each other, the film supplies great multiculturalism, and it’s an interesting aspect of the storyline that people would talk like this.The structure of the film is strange, flicking between dreams and reality with no notice at all, though this disjointed narrative is typical of Gondry and should already be expected by viewers. This film without Gondry could have been a complete disaster, but as his fans will know, it just works.This film is essential viewing for fans of Gondry’s quirky cardboard fantasy worlds, as well as fans of obscure and disjointed post-modern narratives. There are classic scenes of Stéphane bathing in a tub of blue cellophane; Stéphane and Stéphanie riding on a full-size version of Stéphanie’s toy horse; and Stéphane hosting his own TV show with cardboard video cameras.Certain parts of the film are a little too tangled and ambiguous, seeming that Gondry may be the only person who actually wholly understands the plotline. Despite this, the majority of his inner thoughts seem to have transferred brilliantly onto celluloid, making the overall film fantastically charming and whimsical.It is clear that Michel Gondry was not trying to create a mainstream blockbuster, or even a film that could be produced cheaply and make a profit, rather he just had a great idea he felt the world just had to see.