What is a dream?
Where does it come from?
What does it speak of our world...our mind state...our friends...our enemies...ourselves?
Throughout cinematic history, several filmmakers and productions have forged their own notions and have made their own statements within the realms of collective subconscious...of the imagination that infests itself when our defenses are down in the depths of sleep.
From my perspective, such material is a gamble...given the subjective visual nature of the mental landscape.
But through those overwhelming odds and the anticipatory climate of living up to the success of his previous film, writer/director Christopher Nolan manages to navigate that gamble and provide audiences with a bold stance on storytelling that feels intrinsic in its complexity and fulfilling in its primary function of entertainment with 2010s Inception.
In a non-descript time period (NOTE: well say its heightened present day) Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skillful Extractor...a man who has been taught the methodologies and techniques of utilizing a breakthrough technology to enter and navigate the human mind using dreams as a catalyst doorway. As an Extractor, Cobbs forte is entering the mind of a target and stealing vital, valuable information in the form of memories or secrets. Given the illegal nature of his profession, Cobb has become an estranged ghost to his children...leaving them for his work.
When proposed with the idea of being allowed safe passage to return home, Cobb decides to accept one final mission...albeit an all but impossible one.
Not of Extraction...but of Inception; The art and act not of taking an idea from ones mind but of planting an idea into that mind.
Joined by a team composed of specialists capable of mastering various aspects of the dream realm (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy and Dileep Rao), as well as the client responsible for hiring Cobb (Ken Watanabe), the Extractor enters the mind of his target (Cillian Murphy) and sets off on a unique adventure...and the ultimate reversed heist.
The hype surrounding the film leading up to its release was overwhelming to say the least and Im grateful for not having gotten caught up in it that much.
Ultimately, what is there I could say about Inception?
I feel comfortable saying its arguably the greatest motion picture of the last ten or eleven years.
It is capable of capturing the imagination in a way that is simultaneously entertaining and provoking...just as you find yourself thinking, youre sucked back into the thick of things until youre allowed to think again.
To call this a new variation on The Matrix does a disservice to the film because this is clearly better than The Matrix.
In short, yes...I loved Inception. Its the best film of the year seeing the list of films to come.
To me, Nolan brought the same principal to the film that he did to Batman. And no, its not realism. That word is inappropriate for Nolans approach as a filmmaker. The proper word, from my point of view, is logic. Another could be grounding.
Because when youre dealing with the subject matter of the human mind and dreams (just like comic books in a lesser way), anything is up for grabs. You could get pretentiously bogged down in cerebral symbolism...or just go gratuitously and absurdly nuts like the Nightmare on Elm Street series. But Nolans logic of how dreams are handled...from the idea of projections that represent your subconscious to deeper and deeper layers and recesses to represent the complexity of the mind is visually inventive.
Now Ive been seeing the term mind-blowing being thrown around and that I dont really agree with.
If youve got most of your life being immersed in science fiction, comics and fantasy and you have an appetite to seek that material out, youll agree. To see people go on about how complex the film was and the need for multiple viewings in order to understand the intricacies I could feel the weight bearing down that maybe they were right...maybe I wasnt going to get it with just a single viewing.
I got it. I got it immediately. I got it when Cobb was slapped in one plane of reality and the impact threw him off balance in the other.
Now dont misunderstand. The film IS complex...more so than The Dark Knight...and you DO have to pay close attention as the plot works itself through the piece. But if you do pay attention you can easily understand the rules established and whats happening. And by understanding the rules, your mind wont be blown. I feel that words like complex, surreal and intuitive are better suited descriptive candidates. But suffice to say, the fact that people need to have the layers of the Inception job made into a diagram seems odd given that if you pay attention to the film you can follow it quite easily.
But more so than the rules established for the dreamscape, what makes Inception so captivating is its sense of scope and the fact that it never loses itself in that scope. The story and themes are still held on the highest pedestal while the cast and technicalities benefit that story and dont work to take the spotlight away from them.
Several of those themes resonate with you upon leaving the film behind. Perhaps its a call for people to stand up and determine their own reality...in one way, it could perhaps even be seen as a love letter to those of us who choose to use the majority of our time to be immersed in film and fiction and forge our own reality that way because true reality...with all of its bigotry, intolerance, greed, vanity and disgust...isnt all that pleasurable anyway.
I think overall, however, its a message on how dangerous the concept of dreams and ideas can truly be.
Throughout history Inception has occurred...though maybe not as flamboyantly as the film portrays. Even so, take a look...you have individuals like Che Guevara or Adolph Hitler...Malcolm X or The Pope or the Ku Klux Klan. Each of these practices has impacted the world and history in ways that are built upon their ability to plant ideas into the minds of several people...for either positive or negative ends.
As a film, I look at Inception as a representation of what Blade Runner wouldve been had it been successful upon its release and not a cult classic that was discovered later.
In fact, both films seem quite similar in many ways; the most apparent of which is the method of speculation.
In one instance youre left questioning whether or not the main character is human...while in the other youre left questioning whether or not the main character is dreaming.
Now I know people have gone on about the top...Cobbs totem...in the final shot of the film.
But you know what? THATs the genius of Chris Nolan.
Just like Ridleys approach to Deckard being or not being a replicant, the question of whether or not Cobb is still dreaming in the end is posed but never resolved. And thats because its the question itself thats truly interesting. Its the question that makes you leave the theatre with the film still transfixed in your thoughts hours or days later. To actually have an answer to that question would defeat the purpose of the question in the first place which is why I absolutely refuse to answer it...even for myself.
For all its speculative discussion, the film has a very well-oiled sense of action...that is neither gratuitous (Michael Bay) or overtly farcical.
The best example, which really goes without saying, is Arthurs fight against the militant projections in the hotel hallway of the 2nd dream layer...a hallway that is tumbling to represent the tumbling of the van in the 1st dream layer. So a beautifully choreographed set piece and I love the fact that the movements feel fluid and genuine and dont go into the stupid territory of bullet-time. The fact that the corridor spinning in flux is a natural result of the vans own action is just superbly handled. Logic just as I mentioned.
Another is the kinetic attack on the complex in the 3rd dream layer...very Bond-esque both in its backdrop and handling.
The cast of the film is a very inspired assembly to say the least.
Leonardo DiCaprio has certainly come a long way since Titanic hasnt he? Robert Pattinson could certainly learn a thing or two about the road of translating from a young heartthrob to a truly gifted actor. DiCaprio, having been of sound mind and in good company with the likes of Steven Spielberg and frequent collaborator Marty Scorsese always garnishes my respect by making the conscious choice to work with the absolute best filmmakers...finally adding Chris to his repertoire. He brings a quality to Cobb that makes the character much more than a simple thief or action star role...its an existential sense of soul and charm that makes me grateful that hes on screen most of the time.
His partner in crime Arthur is given a wonderful turn by Joseph Gordon-Levitt who, exactly like DiCaprio, has grown into his own with films like Miracle at St. Anna and (500) Days of Summer...a far cry from the goofy twerp of 3rd Rock from the Sun . While his charm is a bit less emotional as the Cobb character, I think that almost cynical edge is what allows Arthur to both level out the balance with Cobb and even give him a run for his money as Levitt repeatedly manages to pull scene focus from everyone else onto himself.
Ellen Page gives one of her best performances as Ariadne, though shes a little too sure of herself for my tastes and her acceptance into the mission comes a bit too easily for me. Then again shes younger and impulsive so it works in the characters favor.
Last but certainly not least is my third favorite performance after Cobb and Arthur in the form of Mal...Beautifully and tragically portrayed by Marion Cotillard. Marion reminds me almost of an Ingrid Bergmann in the role with this sense of beauty that isnt forced and a vulnerability that doesnt drift into obnoxious territory. That final scene with her and Cobb in limbo as he reveals to Ariadne what really happened to them is just heartbreaking and breathtaking at the same time and for all the chaos thats going on around them in that limbo, you are focused on that discourse between Cotillard and DiCaprio so intently and youre so wrapped up in the emotion of their history that the dreamscape isnt even a factor.
The supports, such as Tom Hardy (Star Trek: Nemesis) and Dileep Rao (Avatar) do well to inform the world around them with dashes of cultural significance and charm and theyre most truly welcome.
The rest of the cast is filled with a collection of Batman alumni including Cillian Murphy being his most dapper as Fischer...Ken Watanabe as the strong and sophisticated Saito...and Michael Caine in a lovely cameo appearance as Miles, the architectural professor (and Cobbs father/father-in-law...its not specified which to my knowledge) who taught Cobb the procedures and techniques of navigating the mind.
One of the strong points of Inception, going hand in hand with its approach to tackling the subject matter, is the visual and technical approach of the dream realm.
Right from the get-go, the cinematography instantly grips your eye and its almost indescribable. The film is just gorgeous...crisp and clean in its framing and incredibly inventive in its light...with standout set pieces ranging from the hotel in the 2nd dream layer established by Arthur and the exterior snow photography in the finale. On the other end of the spectrum, the cinematography can potentially go full on grit as exampled in the rain-soaked van chase upon entering the first dream layer. A huge kudos to Wally Pfister whos easily topped his work in the Batman films.
The Production Design is also quite pristine and amazing in its representation. Guy Hendrix Dyas (Superman Returns and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull amongst others) is not so much a set designer here as he is a full on architectural genius. The lobby of the hotel is a prime example with its stark angles and finely finished surfaces of hardwood and glass...its just gorgeous.
Another great set is the final destination of the mission...the room in which the idea must be planted. In its cold Onyx surfaces and stark white grid lines, the set instantly reminded me of the final set piece in 2001: A Space Odyssey! I mean WOW!
The visual effects and image compositing are ever so spotty here and there (Cobb and Ariadne planting their foots on the wall of the street for instance) but for the most part its all quite seamless and inspired. As I said, the film couldve easily fallen into the visual pitfall of just going crazy with dream imagery...but even with its spontaneous and extraordinary trappings, such as the scene in which Ariadne is shifting the architectural paradigm of Cobbs subconscious, the dreams are handled with a logic that still manages to make perfect sense in visual and story terms.
But for any technical element that had the potential to fault in any way, its all salvaged by a dynamic motion picture score composed with heavy-laced emotion by Hans Zimmer. Early rhythmic cues in the film very much echoed the music created for Batman Begins but the film ends with a beautiful swelling cue as Cobb calmly makes his way through the finale. With omnipresent string work and very thundering percussion, the score is as wonderful as any of late.
When all is said and done, Inception...if anything...is an amazing cinematic experience that accomplishes not only the priority of entertainment but it gets into that very rare realm of being a film that stays with you for an insurmountable amount of time.
While the hype for the film (the hype for any film really) can be a bit much coming from other people, I truly believe that the film lives up to all expectations and is a more than worthy successor to The Dark Knight.
Nolan has established himself as the forefront of filmmakers whore making the effort NOT to take the audience for granted and provide them with thoughtful material that isnt served on a silver platter for you to merely digest and walking away from.
Its dynamic filmmaking at is best...filmmaking that IS very reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick or David Lynch or take your pick. Nolan is shoulder to shoulder with those filmmakers that dare to dream...and take us on incredible adventures into the power of the psyche and the will of the human condition.
It was Nolans dream that brought Inception to us...coming from a passion and desire for filmmaking and storytelling that, as far as I can tell, isnt being rivaled all that much, certainly not in the big budget studio realm.
And much like Cobb himself, as daunting a task as it might seem, I think Nolan is on the fact track to planting an idea into audiences.
An idea that we CAN expect intellectually stimulating yet visually entertaining motion pictures within the Summer Blockbuster vernacular.
Its about time, Id say.
9.5/10
