Director/writer Christopher Nolan has explored dark, obsessive characters in exemplary films like The Dark Knight. In his most ambitious story yet (one that took ten years to develop), he designs a thoroughly complex story with concurrent narratives (think Godfather Part II or Intolerance) where (like his earliest film, Following, and his classic, Momento,) time and reality are bent and juxtaposed. This is not light, escapist fare but a deep, convoluted story that engages the mind and heart, and few movies in recent years can be so challenging yet rewarding to its audience.
A man named Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) washes ashore and is taken by armed guards to an old man. From there the film begins to jump in different settings or dream states. Cobb is an expert at the art of ‘inception’, the ability to enter people’s subconscious to steal an idea or plant one. A fugitive, he longs to be reunited with his two children and is constantly plagued by recurring visions of his wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard), who becomes increasingly dangerous. A wealthy Asian businessman, Saito (Ken Watanabe), makes a proposition to Cobb: extract a piece of information from a rival businessman (Cillian Murphy), and Cobb gets to return home to his kids. Vowing this to be his last job, Cobb assembles his team of experts, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a newbie architect Ariadne (Ellen Page), a forger and impersonator, Earnes (Tom Hardy), and a drug chemist, Yusuf (Dileep Rao). To infiltrate Fischer’s mind, the team designs an elaborate set of dreams within dreams to effect a con game. This compounds the risks and, as Cobb finds himself being harassed by a more menacing Mal, the team encounters last minute crises that force Cobb to make a desperate choice. Can they get Fischer to reveal his secrets in time, and what of Cobb’s personal obsession?
The plot brings to mind the alternative realities of The Matrix, Dreamscape, and Altered States. Like the magicians in Nolan’s The Prestige, it is a slight of hand where much of the film’s narrative plays like stream of consciousness. It’s about a lifetime of love that’s experienced in mere flashes or an eternity, and despite the film’s intricate machinations, its simple themes are the search for validation and love. The film is also about the need of letting go and taking a leap of faith. At times you wonder if any given scene is real or a dream, and that is the conceit of the film; for some, the dream IS the reality.
The team concept is in keeping with Mission: Impossible and Oceans 11 (any version) as each member’s expertise comes into play, and the deeper the team goes into the dreams, the greater the risks. In one key sequence set in a snow mountain compound, there is an obvious homage to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and you wonder what wonders Nolan could work on the James Bond franchise!
This ‘dream’ cast works together very well and includes Nolan’s repertory actors, Murphy and Caine. DiCaprio (looking astonishingly like Nolan) does an excellent job as the tortured soul with a dark secret. Cotillard is hauntingly beautiful as Cobb’s wife while the younger Page is adorable as the bright architect who also serves as Cobb’s moral compass when he begins to falter and have self doubts.
The film’s technical accomplishments are outstanding, and although the special effects are terrific in depicting the mind bending scenery, the live action sets and stunt work (with Levitt doing some remarkable acrobatics) are even more impressive in depicting mixed gravity where people float or walk on walls and ceilings. In a masterful blend of film editing, the dream sequences shuttle back and forth, and time is slowed to a crawl in one instance, and given years in another. Hans Zimmer’s relentless, minimalist score is a particularly noteworthy achievement of mood and dramatic pacing.
This is not a perfect film, and (at two and one-half hours) there are moments where you think Nolan could have explored more of his subjects. A director like Steven Spielberg or Ron Howard might have emotionally milked certain scenes for all they are worth, and it is because of that, we expect a bit more connection and feelings. Like most of Nolan’s films, the brooding characters and situations are almost entirely devoid of humor or any lighthearted tone which brings to mind any number of Stanley Kubrick films. While some may find the ending a bit too neat or perhaps too open ended, it is left to the audience to decide how to interpret the meaning of the finale. Yet these are minor quibbles for grand, pure cinematic experience. Nolan has created something so special that it engages the mind. How dare he?
With Inception, Christopher Nolan is most certainly one of the best film directors. His previous masterpiece, The Dark Knight, should have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. Come to think of it, that very film helped change the Oscar rules to expand from five to ten nominees so that gems like Inception are not left out. It won’t be. Do take this wild ride, and you’ll find that you are obsessed with its mystery and beauty and repeating the journey again and again.
**** of **** stars
