Review 87: Inception

Inception is an astonishing sci fi action film, Christopher Nolan's best film to date and to this day I just wish I knew what was going through that filmmakers head when he wrote this, in fact its not a film-its a masterpice.

Dominik "Dom" Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), is a specialized corporate spy and thief whose work consists of secretly extracting valuable commercial information from the unconscious minds of his targets while they dream. Wanted for murder and unable to visit his children, Cobb is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "Inception", the implantation of an original idea into a target's subconscious.

The plot is a genius work of art. I mean, What was Christopher Noland thinking of when he wrote this? Its got so many interesting ideas and themes. It's such a multilayered story filled with

If you thought The Matrix was impossible to understand, this is even harder to understand but it doesn't matter because, it smart, it thought provoking and it gets you thinking.

Primarily, Inception seems to be about dreams. Nolan specifically wanted to explore "the idea of sharing a dream space...  That you the ability to access someones unconscious mind. What would the be used and abused for? The majority of the film takes place in these interconnected dream worlds. This structure creates a framework where actions in the real or dream worlds ripple across others.
The dream is always in a state of production, and shifts across the levels as the characters navigate it.

Others critics have argued that Inception is a metaphor for filmmaking and that the filmgoing experience itself, images flashing before the audiences eyes in a dark screening is very akin to a dream. You could make the argument that movies look and feel very much like dreams. According to Sergei Eisenstein's montage theory "Cinema is a reflection of our subconcious. Editing expresses how our everyday thought process happens." Nolan uses this principle to great effect to maks reality and the world of the Dream making it almost impossible to know which is which.

Inception can also be interepted as an exploration of Loss: Cobb's wife "Mal" has passed away and he's been removed from his children. All he wants is to be reunited with them and he'll do whatever it takes to see them again as he says "This last job, that's how I get there." One a subconcious level, Cobb is a literal wreck unable to be with himself or even think without the constant reminder of the trauma that he caused or he thinks that he caused.

Nolan also intelligently combines elements from several different film genres into this film, notably science, heist film and film noir.

Christopher Nolan's directing is stylish, the score by Hans Zimmer is beautifully electronically driven, the cinematography is gorgeous and captures the beauty of the films locations (in reality and dreams).
The production design is masterful, the scenery is breathtaking, the special effects are staggering (Nolan's signature use of particle effects is full on display here), the action scenes are expertly stagged, the costume design is brilliant  and the ending was superb.

When it comes to the cast, Christopher Nolan, once again, shows he has a brilliant taste for casting his characters an incredible cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine. Each and every one of them did an incredible job.

Leonardo DiCaprio    He has an adiction to dreams that he just can't break. He wants to leave the fantastic behind and live in something that is real. The only way for him to get there is through limbo, the one place that is so seductive for him to stay.
A world where he can live with his subconcious' projections of his wife and his children and spend an eternity living an idealistic life. A life that is great in every way except for the fact that it's not real. His fight is to resist the temptation

Nolan intentionally and wisely leaves Cobb's desire to be with his children vauge. This allows us as an audience to project our own desire onto the children; They act as a stand-in for our own family. Almost like how it works in dreams, a projection of our subconcious. Cobb has been away from his children for so long that they've become nonspecific. He remembers their faces but not who they are or what ultimately defines them. He and Mal became so obsessed with dreaming that they disregard what is real and what is tangible. They tried to hard to feel something real that they lost what they really had. 

Ellen Page  playing Ariadne (an obvious nod to the daughter of King Minos of Crete who aided the heo Theseus by giving him a sword and a ball of string to help him navigate the labyrinth which was the prison of the Minotur in the Greek Myths); an graduate student of architecture. Cobb recruits Ariadne as part of his heist becuase  Initially detered by being involved in something that's not 

Marion Cotillard  "Mal" Cobb. She appears throughout the film as Dom's projection of his guilt over his deceased wife's suicide. Because she's the films primary antagonist, she is a frequent, malevolent presence and obstacle throughout his dreams. He is unable to control these projections of her which challenge his abilities as an extractor. Mal represents the one thing Cobb can't separate from. He is still in love with her and that love has turned into an obsession and ultimately a dangerous one.

Inception is an absolute Dream! 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic