Inception (2010)

Director: Christopher Nolan
Story: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy
Music: Hans Zimmer
Time: 148 minutes
Bottom-line: Another Nolan classic.

  Inception is Christopher Nolan’s eighth film. Like The Departed, this film features an ensemble cast: DiCaprio, Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard etc, with Dileep Rao, Cilian Murphy also playing a part. Michael Caine has a cameo in the film as well. Inception is categorized under many genres: sci-fi, thriller, action and heist films.

Inception is all about dreams. Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) is an ‘extractor’ i.e. he infiltrates people’s subconscious to steal secret information (called extraction). Cobb, along with his business partner Arthur (Gordon-Levitt) plan to extract information from Saito (Watanabe), an immensely rich Japanese businessman. The project is foiled by the memory of Mal (Cotillard), Cobb’s dead wife, who often appears in his dreams. After waking up, Saito reveals that he was auditioning Cobb for performing ‘inception’: the act of planting an idea into someone’s subconscious. Saito wants to destroy a rival company, by planting the idea into the subconscious of the heir, Robert Fischer (Murphy). In return, Saito tells that he can clear Cobb’s name and get him back to the US, where he is wanted for the murder of his wife. The rest of the film is how Cobb assembles his team, and how they plan to fulfill Saito’s wish, so that Cobb can return to the US, to his children.                        

The cast: DiCaprio (front), Levitt (left most), Watanabe (front right)

, Hardy (left back), Page and Rao

This is another confusing film, though not as much as ‘Memento’. Inception takes place in various places across the world. Nolan chose locations like Greenland, Tangier, Japan etc. The film was shot in six different countries. As most of the audience, if not all, are new to the world of dreams, Nolan cleverly lets them understand the dream world. While Cobb and Arthur and most of his team: Eames (Hardy), Yusuf (Rao) are experienced in dreams, Ariadne (Page) is new. So, through Ariadne’s questions, we are also made aware of certain terms and bywords of the dream world, working of the subconscious mind etc.

There are lots of plus points about Inception. The score is exceptional: Zimmer has done a fantastic job. The visual effects, especially in the dream sequences are also great. The scene in the hotel lobby, where Arthur has to move around in zero gravity, has been shot very well. The entire cast has done well. The story line is fantastic… Nolan has made sure that after this film, you will never dream the same way again! Most importantly, Nolan has perhaps made the most ‘realistic’ film about something we think is unrealistic: dreams. The other notable ‘realistic’ film about subconscious mind is Hitchcock’s ‘Spellbound’, which came about 50-60 years before Inception. 

A famous action sequence in the film:
Arthur in a zero-gravity zone

About the story, the fact that Saito says he can get Cobb back into the US, past security and past immigration, though he is wanted for murder, is unrealistic. Another minus point (for some) may be the whole plot. In the end, you may feel ‘What’s the big deal about dreams??’, but still, Nolan has made it very believable.

Like Memento, the ending is ambiguous. Till the last second, you are sure of what is going to happen and then poof: the credits begin to roll, leaving the film unfinished. The ending is up for grabs: you can think of any possible ending. There have been several fan theories providing what I believe is the right ending, but anyway, if you want it to be ambiguous, so be it! Non-linear narrative structure is somewhat used, where several dream sequences are shown alternately.

Yet, with all its good qualities, Inception is still one of the best science fiction movies, along with The Matrix, Back to the Future etc. Zimmer’s excellent score, a good  - but maybe far-fetched - story, brilliant direction from Nolan and good visual effects make Inception a thoroughly entertaining ride. This film is bound to have some effect on you… and as I said before, after Inception, your dreams will never be the same…

My Rating: 4.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 86%