Inception, the latest film from Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan, is a mind-bending foray into the world of dream espionage. The story follows a team of “extractors,” led by the enigmatic Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), as they embark on a perilous mission within the human mind. Their goal, as the film’s name implies, is “inception,” the near-impossible job of planting an idea in the mind of another human being. To discuss the plot any further would be a disservice to both the film and to you, the potential viewer. As the summer goes on, this is a film that will surely be the subject of much conversation, with all viewers having their own perspective on the events at hand.
Image by Warner Brothers Pictures.
Inception is excellent not because it is unparalleled — previous films have already taught us to question reality — but because it is uniquely enjoyable. Despite the requisite inclusion of summer-action-blockbuster explosions, its real fun comes from a wild experience that challenged me to keep up with my shifting perceptions. Beginning with an exposition that changed the apparent roles of characters and reality multiple times, to a layered climax with so much tension and speed that two seconds seemed to unfold over twenty minutes (in more ways than one), I had the rare continuous feeling of cerebral and visceral enjoyment.
Emotional intensity is enhanced throughout by Hans Zimmer’s music. It too is not necessarily profound, but is always sublimely appropriate. The score does exactly what it is supposed to do: add value without distraction. But what elevates it from appropriate to excellent is the key integration of Edith Piaf’s “Non, Je ne Regrette Rien.” While primarily supporting the story, her haunting voice resonates through scenes like no other plot device could.
It is impossible to avoid comparisons to Memento, one of Nolan’s earlier films. Inception is more enjoyable, because of the delightful recurring cycle of confusion and clarity throughout. The film is so well-crafted that every detail feels right. Transitions, clothing, architecture, and locations all seem to make sense, even when in dreams that are really impossible.
As Cobb explains, “It’s only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange.” I was occasionally aware — like the characters on screen — that what I was seeing wasn’t real, only a carefully constructed dreamscape. I thought some about the clever imagination behind it, but its curiosities didn’t seem out of place. The triumph of Inception is its simultaneous clarity and inscrutability. Even if only a dream, I wished to stay in it longer.
Image by Warner Brothers Pictures.
Christopher Nolan has delivered his best film to date, a mind-altering action thriller that’s filled with suspense. Inception, which lasts over two and half hours doesn’t feel like it’s too long, but rather just right. The pacing is perfect, as the film quickly moves from scene to scene. The plot is fast to unfold and the meat of the story takes hold. Filled with intensity, action packed fight and chase scenes, and cool special effects, makes this brain teaser one of the best “question reality” films to come out.
The film’s biggest strengths are its feeling of urgency and attention to detail. From the start, I knew I had to carefully watch every scene as best I could. Even still, Nolan was able to craft a story I was never able to fully guess, but was always able to appreciate. As the story continued to its powerful climax, the complexity of time within the movie, and the relationship of actions between characters, became increasingly important as the film dealt with multiple realities of our subconscious. These relationships that had a butterfly effect through each layer of reality kept me on edge as I watched the protagonists struggle to complete their mission.
Nolan does an amazing job of telling a story that I easily took as believable and plausible without any nudging. He spared me any trouble about knowing the science of it all by completely avoiding how any of the technology within the story works or how inception even came to be, but rather focuses completely on how everything functions within our minds. I was soon grasping at the thought of “what is reality” and how I perceive my surroundings. More importantly the thought that “my ideas” may be false, even implanted by someone else.
I have no doubt that Inception will be a continued success throughout the rest of its time in theaters, and possibly even after. Nolan and his cast have created a deep fiction that will surely stick in every viewer’s head. Like all great mind films, I felt pushed to question my reality, and now, even my dreams.
Image by Warner Brothers Pictures.
After seeing Inception, I can safely say my mind is officially bent, maybe even broken. Did I like the movie? Yes, I may have even loved it. There is no doubt in my mind that this is Christopher Nolan’s best production to date. It is intelligent, well-executed, immersive, and wholly unique. With that said, the film has left me with an odd and unfamiliar series of emotions. I did not walk away in awe, as so many other great intellectual films have done to me in the past. Rather, I walked away with my mind at a standstill. I knew I had to think about what I had just seen, but for the first time in my life, I had no idea where to even begin.
From the outset, Inception does more than just immerse you in its fiction – it flat-out drowns you in it. Within the opening minutes, there is this inescapable sense that you should be paying fervent attention to every tiny detail. The concepts introduced here are all-encompassing, reaching beyond the film’s core fiction into the real world. In many ways, the viewer is just as large a part of the experience as the actors themselves. It not only encourages, but requires you to ask questions and seek your own answers, lest you get lost in a sea of ambiguity. I often felt like I was piecing the puzzle together one step ahead of the film itself, only to be proven wrong and led in an entirely new direction. Inception runs for 148 minutes, and I was at full attention for all of it.
This is not to say that the film is confusing. At no point did I feel lost or out of step with the events unfolding on screen. Christopher Nolan walks the razor’s edge of having a story that shifts between many disparate elements, yet holds together with tight formation and focus. It pushes forward with furious momentum, and left me making footnotes of elements I would have to revisit later. It was clear to me that I would be thinking Inception over for weeks to come. Then the ending came around, and, with an air of inexplicable finality, brought my brain to a halt. I still had so many questions, but I was at a loss as to how to answer them. Any attempt to decipher the details seemed feeble and hollow.
This is the great success of Inception. It is not a film that is meant to be thought about, but rather, a force to make you think. Much like the film’s premise itself, Inception has planted the foundations of an idea in my mind, and even now it grows. It cannot be brought to light with logic, but must instead be felt and lived. This is truly a film for the subconscious mind. Inception is a completely unique property, and film design at its best. Every scene, every moment is carefully paced out, and only serves to lead us further into some grand mental trap. I fell in willingly.
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