Review of Inception (2010) by Yinalí R — 30 Jan 2015

Christopher Nolan has already blessed with his fair share of classics of modern cinema, offering us Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige and the incredible The Dark Knight. With each of these he has proved to be a master of his work, constructing entire worlds for the viewer to lose themselves in entirely. And in his latest work, this is quite literally what he does. .

Inception begins with an idea: what if our subconscious could be accessed and our secrets revealed through the medium of our dreams? What we are given in an answer to this question is one of the most incredible pieces of cinema to hit our screens since Neo decided to take on Agent Smith. .

Dominic Cobb (a fantastic Di Caprio) is a man with a very special area of expertise: steal ideas or secrets from someone's subconscious through the use of shared dreams. However, his troubled past and own subconscious make it increasingly difficult for him to succeed in this profession. In order to solve the problem of his... not quite legal past, he is given one last job to do: inception; planting an idea inside someone's mind, an idea majoritively believed to be impossible. As he and his team go about trying to achieve this, they become increasingly aware that this job might just be known as impossible for a reason. .

Let's start with the script. It's not quite as playful as the Batman films, so don't expect to be laughing too much; you really won't. The moments of comedy in there are funny, however, so it's not that the comedy falls flat, it's just that comedy isn't as necessary, nor as warranted, in this film. It is, however, as with most Nolan projects, distinctively Nolan. He walks the very, very fine line between the restriction of realism and the streams of uninterrupted dialogue of a Tarantino film beautifully, giving some very quotable lines but being restrained in terms of dialogue in general. Basically, being very clever in terms of what it does and does not say but without flaunting the fact. The intense moments are good and intense and the heartbreaking scenes are nothing short of their mark. It will definitely take a few screenings before a full appreciation for its subtlety and depth is reached, but after watching it once, I don't think anyone would mind a second viewing. .

Now to the acting. Our main man Di Caprio is aMAZing he is a rock, our anchor in this visual storm which keeps the entire film grounded. This isn't the sort of role, nor the sort of acting, which wins an Oscar. There is no scenery chewing, no intense crying sequences to impress the academy with. But he plays his role so very well. He shows every emotion that Cobb feels, his indecision, his fear, his guilt, without feeling broody or one-dimensional. And the supporting cast is incredible as well, especially Ellen Page playing the newbie to the group outstandingly. Her fear for the program is palpable, as well as her fear of Cobb himself. Marion Cotillard is astonishing in her role. She is as disarming as she is villainess and as lovely yet dark as you would imagine her to be. She is a perfect casting choice for this film and her role is yet another example of why she's incredible. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is great as the not-quite-reliable sidekick who seems to be loyal yet unsure of his partner in crime. .

Hanz Zimmer has proved himself, once again, to be a pioneer in the field of score creation. His menacing, dark blasts of primeval sound which make up the films' soundtrack are inspired. They add an extra level of malevolence which takes the film to a entirely new level. .

Now, onto Mr. Nolan. The only real word for his work in this film is mindblowing, and that word has been bandied about a lot lately, but its true meaning is revealed after watching this film. We go from beautiful, intricately intimate close-ups which perfectly capture the inner workings of our lead's mind, to jaw-dropping wide-scale as buildings crumble into the ocean, avalanches rage down mountain sides, cities fold up on themselves and vans fly off the edge of bridges. It is a truly immense scale upon which Nolan unfolds his drama, but that's to be expected of the Dark Knight visionary. The special effects are flawless; not one frame looks out of place, despite the incredulous nature of the images being displayed. But the incredible thing about the extravagant images and amazing set pieces is the way that Nolan uses them. They are not stunts, nor merely throwaway pieces of eye-candy. Each and every one is used to further his story, expand the universe he is creating or to create a connection between us and the lead. It is a heartbreaking story surrounded by eye-popping images which work together so well. The tension which Nolan creates during the last half of the film is the calibre of a seasoned professional, building it slowly to a level almost unbearable. But the fantastic thing about the film is that Nolan is able to make the entire thing work to create the connection between audience and star which proves so elusive in many lesser filmmakers' work. You're never able to forget why they're going on this journey, nor why Cobb is so determined to make it work, thanks to the fantastic story by Nolan. And with an ending which rivals that of Blade Runner, he sums the entire film up both ambiguously and definitely at once. .

Inception is nothing less than history in motion, we are just lucky enough to be among those who get the first glimpse. .

Defining Scene: .

The horrifying realisation of the occurrences in a hotel room. At once heartbreaking and gut-wrenching.