I viewed this based on a number of factors: Gondry's work on Eternal Sunshine and some of the most inventive music videos ever created; Gael Garcia Bernal whom I've yet to see in a dud movie.
Until now.
Gondry achieves his aim of immersing the viewer into a waking dream. Like the protagonist, as the film goes on we lose the ability to tell what is real from what isn't. At times when you think Stephane is lucid and in honest communication with the other characters in the story something will happen that will completely throw you. Is he ever fully awake? Is he asleep? Or is he just daydreaming? The visuals are very dreamlike and reminiscent of Gondrys music videos for The White Stripes, Steriogram and Bjork (to name a few). Marvellous to watch and remarkably effective.
Where the film started to lose effect for me was when frustration began to replace sympathy for Stephanes predicament and character. Some of his actions and statements appeared indicative of a deeply mentally unbalanced individual verging on creepy. He was effectively emotionally hassling the object of his affection with behavior that was becoming plainly offensive. Because of this it is hard to see how he could win Stephanies affection let alone anyone else's. If anything he appears a manic depressive and in need of psychiatric help and if the film had ended with him sitting in the corner of a padded cell, drooling from the side of his mouth, having completely retreated into his much preferred dream state full-time, it might have been entirely appropriate.
What the film does instead is leave you with the possibility (tho slim) that Stephanie will be attracted to his fragility thereby allowing Stephane to achieve his stated objective, however messily he went about it and despite his obvious social dysfunction. To me this was a cop out and unrealistic. Sure, it's one of many possibilities, most of them unhappy for Stephane, but it's those last few scenes that your understanding of the film as a whole hangs on. My reaction was one of annoyance and frustration.
Until now.
Gondry achieves his aim of immersing the viewer into a waking dream. Like the protagonist, as the film goes on we lose the ability to tell what is real from what isn't. At times when you think Stephane is lucid and in honest communication with the other characters in the story something will happen that will completely throw you. Is he ever fully awake? Is he asleep? Or is he just daydreaming? The visuals are very dreamlike and reminiscent of Gondrys music videos for The White Stripes, Steriogram and Bjork (to name a few). Marvellous to watch and remarkably effective.
Where the film started to lose effect for me was when frustration began to replace sympathy for Stephanes predicament and character. Some of his actions and statements appeared indicative of a deeply mentally unbalanced individual verging on creepy. He was effectively emotionally hassling the object of his affection with behavior that was becoming plainly offensive. Because of this it is hard to see how he could win Stephanies affection let alone anyone else's. If anything he appears a manic depressive and in need of psychiatric help and if the film had ended with him sitting in the corner of a padded cell, drooling from the side of his mouth, having completely retreated into his much preferred dream state full-time, it might have been entirely appropriate.
What the film does instead is leave you with the possibility (tho slim) that Stephanie will be attracted to his fragility thereby allowing Stephane to achieve his stated objective, however messily he went about it and despite his obvious social dysfunction. To me this was a cop out and unrealistic. Sure, it's one of many possibilities, most of them unhappy for Stephane, but it's those last few scenes that your understanding of the film as a whole hangs on. My reaction was one of annoyance and frustration.