Michel Gondry is kind of a weird guy. Sometimes that weirdness means he can be part of original, thought-provoking movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Sometimes it means he can direct exciting work like Dave Chappelle’s Block Party. And sometimes it means he can create an absurd and incoherent film, like The Science of Sleep (la science des rêves).

Sleep follows artist/inventor Stéphane (Gael García Bernal), who is Spanish but moves to France because his mother claims she got him a creative job. It turns out to be a lowly office job and he hates it, but he decides to stick around for a bit so he can get to know across-the-hall neighbor Stéphanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg). The Gondry twist is that Stéphane has trouble distinguishing his dreams from reality. Most of his bizarre dreams feature Stéphane TV, where he is a zany host who explains REM cycles and shows off his inventions on a cardboard set.

The film mixes the neighborly romance with Stéphane’s dreams, with Stéphanie beginning to figure out that her semi-beau is a bit of an oddball and deciding if he’s worth the hassle. But this conflict never fully develops because it is constantly interrupted by creepy fantasy sequences, one of which involves Stéphane having hands so huge he can’t complete the menial tasks at his job.

The film’s subtitles translate what the characters are saying, but that doesn’t mean any of it makes sense. Bernal and Gainsbourg are not the problem, they are actually believable as their characters, but neither their chemistry nor Gondry’s visual antics are enough to hold the viewer’s attention.

There are a few enjoyable moments of childish behavior between the two adults that are endearing and even funny, like when they create diorama scenes using blue and white cellophane as water. But for the most part, there’s too much going on in Stéphane’s mind for the audience to keep up, and the gimmicky dream sequences don’t help Science of Sleep feel like much more than a mere nap through a better Gondry work.