Review of Inception (2010) by Jackson M — 21 Aug 2014

After consecutively watching Christopher Nolan's films, it seems that one of the fundamental reasons why Nolan has gained such a legion of followers is that he always contains a balance of separate tastes required for a wider audience. From providing the great spectacle that the big-profit films require while still maintaining and never sacrificing an intellectual depth, it's no wonder that the directors fan-demographic reflects not only the general audience, but also critics, film scholars and cinephiles alike. And while most of his movies contain this balance of action and interesting subject matter, "Inception" is undeniably Nolan's opus.

Using the mechanics of a heist narrative, Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a professional thief that performs the art of extraction: the stealing of information from an individuals subconscious. However, after being offered the chance to return to his family, Cobb agrees to perform the difficult task of Inception: the planting of an idea within someone's dream-state (oppose to extracting it). While this is a relatively simple explanation of the plot, the execution of the narrative (like most Nolan films) is extremely complex. Not only does Nolan employ the usual interchange between the past and present, but also a continues cycle between reality, dreams and memories. Moreover, during these various interchanges are quantities of plot details that explain the many separate mechanics that revolve around the dream-state. Although this sense of complexity is daunting, it really is one of the essential reasons why "Inception" has that everlasting quality - its labyrinth structure is riddled with concealed secrets, even after repeated viewings.

In terms of genre, "Inception" is a beautiful amalgamation of the directors inspirations. The 'L.A aesthetic' influenced from Mann's "Heat" is still present from "The Dark Knight" with breathtaking city imagery and also some action sequences that are clearly constructed from Nolan's Bond influence ("On Her Majesty's Secret Service"). Furthermore, there are many of the surrealist conventions that are associated with the visual representation of dreams in cinema. Although the amalgamation of these various genres could have been messy, "Inception" strucks an interesting balance between the elements of reality and the surreal. In one of the best action set-pieces that I have ever seen, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) gets into a tussle with a henchmen (subconscious projection) in a hallway that continually rotates and eventually loses gravity. With this set-piece actually being authentically built (Nolan has said that this particular influence came from the internal designs of Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey") and without any contribution from CGI, the dichotomy between the surrealist characteristics and the reality constructions of dreams are reflected brilliantly.

While the layers to "Inception's" narrative could of possibly short-changed the leads, many of the characters - possibly - turn out to be Nolan's best. Cobb is the directors typical unreliable narrator that once again reflects a sense of misdirection through the questioning of his perception of 'reality' (drawing many similarities to Leonard in "Memento"). With a fantastic performance provided by DiCaprio, Cobb is undeniably the emotional anchor. Along with DiCaprio, the chemistry between Arthur and Eames (Tom Hardy) adds the humour (both reflecting the classic tension between science and imagination). However, Mal (Marion Cotillard) possibly steals the show. A personification of Cobb's repressed guilt, Cotillard creates the perfect balance between demanding sympathy and being frighteningly scary.

Above all, the most astonishing achievement of "Inception" is Nolan's craftsmanship. Balancing the interchange between the conception of dreams and reality would of obviously been a daunting task; however, the director makes it seem easy. On full display during the final forty minutes, Nolan guides the audience through four separate action sequences that are occurring simultaneously which eventuate in perfect synchronization. Essentially, even when there is action you have to pay attention. Adding to the scope and quality of the film is Hans Zimmer's amazing score. Opening with the thunderous "The Dream is Collapsing" that accompanies an action sequence that cuts between three levels of dreams and reality sets the tone perfectly. And of course there's the beautiful melody "Time"; a musical piece that greatly adds the emotional significance to the end of Cobb's character arc.

Fundamentally, containing all of Nolan's traits on the grandest scale, there are many things to appreciate about "Inception.".