Are you trying to mock me on live television?

Given that his 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' was so universally beloved, there's a lot of hype upon Michel Gondrey's new film 'The Science of Sleep'. Someone warned me that not only is it NOT the best film of the year, it's not even the best Michel Gondry film of the year (That'll be 'Dave Chappelle's Block Party').

Well, as you may expect, it's visually stunning. There's a lot of the homemade special effects that we've seen in many of his music videos. In fact, you don't have to watch Science too closely to find nods to his videos for 'Everlong', 'Bachelorette' or 'Deadweight'. The dream sequences are really arresting and there's a strong sense of fun throughout the film.

Where I thought it was lacking was the narrative. For a film rooted in dreams vs. reality, it is sometimes tough to keep up with. It's hard to love the (waking) characters, Gael Garcia Bernal's character is close to the line between sweet and creepy. His co-worker Guy is ace, though. Gondry wrote this one himself, and it doesn't carry the tenderness of Charlie Kaufman's scripts that he's worked with before.

Definitely see it if you can, but don't expect anything too amazing.