The Science of Sleep - 7.5

The Science of Sleep is Michel Gondry's follow up to the brilliant Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, well follow up in tone and theme at least if not chronological order because Gondry did direct the also very good documentary Dave Chappelle's Block Party in between. The Science of Sleep stars Gael Garcia Bernal as a creative young man whose dreams intertwine with his waking life - sometimes so much so that he can't tell the difference. The plot takes off when Bernal falls in love with an equally artistic young French woman named Stephanie(played by Charlotte Gainsbourg) who he wants to share his world with. Similar to Eternal Sunshine, Gondry seamlessly weaves real life with Bernal's dream world. This tactic serves its purpose but sometimes I found myself wishing they'd just get back to the real plot. That's only a minor quibble though because overall this was a well-crafted, involving movie that also managed to find some emotional resonance due to Bernal's extremely likable character's romance with Stephanie.