Review of Standing Ovation (2010) by Elaine U — 15 Jul 2010

Inception, Christopher Nolan's seventh-feature film is in many ways a summation, of sorts of everything his cinema has strived to achieve for in the past decade or more. The detailed intricacies of human mind and the sheer complexity of all the layers that lie beneath it â??such themes have often played a frequent role in his movies. A magnum opus of epic proportions, Inception is the kind of a movie that is a sign of director reaching his artistic peak. It's like Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" or Hitchcock's "Vertigo" in many ways where the meaning the director has been trying to strive for reaches it's complete realization.

In the follow-up to the much-adored Dark Knight, Inception is a rare big-budget cerebral blockbuster built on strong foundations of it's original, mindbending concept in today's age of sequels and "inspired" remakes. Leonardo DiCaprio plays as Dom Cobb, an "extractor" who is paid to invade the dreams of the minds of various corporate giants and steal their ideas in a fictional setting of the future. When he is challenged by Saito (Ken Watanabe; understated for most parts) to attempt an inception â??which is the planting an idea into someone's mind, he accepts the challenge. Backed by a powerful ensemble cast including the likes of Joseph Gordon-Lewitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao and the ever- dependable Michael Caines, Inception drives forward often with the speed and intensity that can only be helmed by Nolan. Using mind-bending visuals and top-class special effects to create unforgettable dream scenarios, Inception is the movie that involves the viewer, challenges them throughout its entirety and rewards them with believable logic and dazzling imagination throughout its entirety.

Inception never loses its emotional core despite all the twisted logic and mindbending space between dream and reality. A special mention should go to Marion Cotillard whose haunting portrayal as Mal sent shivers down my spine with dread every time she appeared on-screen. I would also applaud Nolan for keeping the "craziness" factor low for this movie (something which many critics complained about). I preferred the believable factor and how nothing ever seemed over-the-top mostly which further distorted the difference between reality and dreams further more. I preferred this rather than the movie taking a crazy Kubrick turn somewhere in the middle.

In the end despite few rough edges and leap of faiths, Inception is a dazzling achievement in every right. It challenges the viewer with every sequence to suspend their belief on what is dream and reality. It is an achievement in the fact that original ideas when supplied with big- budgets can turn into incredibly powerful movies such as this one. But lastly and most importantly, it is an achievement of the fulfillment of the vision a man set to fulfill a decade back with an idea. The idea which has synthesized with the kind of cinema he has gained mastery over to form this single movie. And what a movie it really was.

10/10.