Inception

Inception is a big movie. A big movie that I saw on a big screen with a big audience. Filled with big actors, shot on big sets with big stunts that cost big money. Most importantly maybe is that Inception also has some big ideas floating around inside it. Ideas that are melted into a movie disguised for some as fast food entertainment. What's more interesting to me though then what the film actually means is what the film actually means for Hollywood. In a era where remakes and squeals dominate the multiplex, its rare to get a big budget production that is based off of a, get this, ORIGINAL idea.
Writer/director Christopher Nolan spent the better part of ten years penning Inception. He came up with the idea while doing Insomnia, but he put it on the back burner while he worked on rebooting the Batman franchise. Its probably a good thing that he waited. If he had attempted it before The Dark Knight's billion dollar intake he most surely would of gotten a different budget. The fact that an artist in this medium of film is given that kind of money and respect for a film that could easily become a financial flop in our day and age is a rare sight. Its a testament to the skill of the filmmaker more than anything else.
Inception is a film about dreams and dreams within dreams. Leonardo DiCaprio continues his already fantastic career with yet another great performance. He seems to be really coming into his own in these last couple of years. Making his transformation from boy to man with a slue of good career moves. A friend of mine thinks he may already have the most prolific career in the history of cinema. With a track record that includes working with Lasse Hallstrom, Sam Raimi, Baz Lurhman, James Cameron, Woody Allen, Danny Boyle, Steven Spielberg, Edward Zwick, Ridley Scott, Sam Mendes, Chris Nolan, and Martin Scorsese on four different occasions, who can argue. Here in Inception he plays a man dealing with serious regret and some inner turmoil and demons that very few actors can pull off as well. He's supported by surely what has to be the most accomplished and promising group of young actors this year. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Ken Wantanabe, Michael Caine, Tom Berenger, Pete Postilwaite, Ellen Page, and Marion Cottiard all put in solid work. The plot is incredibly intricate so for the sake of the reader and myself I won't get into it. What I will say is that it's an incredibly complex script that involves multiple levels of reality all surrounded by the objective of a heist. James Bond meets The Matrix is a pretty good comparison with the demeanor of Kubrick and the trickery of Hitchcock to boot. Nolan must have had a lot going on in that head of his just to have the audacity to even attempt to pull off a story of this magnitude and complexity.
Detractors have argued that Nolan's work sometimes sacrifice's emotionality for plot development. I actually think he cares a great deal about both. Inception however is first and foremost an action picture above all else. And what a ride it is. Spectacular set pieces with brilliant cinematography by Wally Pifster only add to its appeal. Over the past couple of days I've twisted my brain into a pretzel trying to analyze and obtain an answer to the jigsaw puzzle mystery that the film clearly is or wants to be. I think I began to start getting off track though. If your looking for a highly intellectual film experience wit endless possibilities for debate you'll find it here but if your also looking for a two and half hour experience of none stop adrenaline, then you'll find that too. Its a rush of the senses that forces the viewer to actively participate in the theatre. That is an experience that is getting rarer and rarer these days and it is something to be valued and praised when found. You'll find it in Inception, so try not to give yourself a headache and just enjoy the trip. I sure as hell did.

A-

2010