FILM REVIEW : Inception

Posted by: Tony – Jul 16, 2010

Going into Inception, I was keeping a cautiously optimistic attitude. Christopher Nolan, the writer and director, always makes excellent films, and Leonardo DiCaprio, the lead actor, is running on an almost ten year hot streak. That said, I was still concerned about how well Nolan would be able to transition from his recent reboot of the Batman franchise to an original work. It took about five minutes for this movie to put all my fears to rest. It would be a difficult to focus on lingering concerns while such an immediately engrossing movie is playing. This is the kind of film that completely absorbs the viewer with a brilliant plot and dynamic visual effects. You cannot look away, you cannot think about anything else, and Nolan rewards this attention from start to finish.

Christopher Nolan went out of his way to keep the plot of the film a secret. Even the theatrical trailers revealed very little. While it must have been difficult on the marketing department, it was definitely the correct way to go. To reveal any of this movies secrets ahead of time would rob film goers of the experience of revelation this movie provides so frequently. To tell the bare minimum: Leonardo DiCaprio, as Mr. Cobb, leads a team of thieves. They specialize in stealing secrets by using a technological breakthrough that allows them to enter a person’s subconscious while they are dreaming. Things change a bit when a businessman makes Cobb an offer he cannot refuse. Cobb will be given what he has always wanted if he and his team can go into the mind of their employer’s chief competitor, not to extract secrets, but to place an idea for him to act on. The task is made all the more difficult by Cobb’s own personal demons that come out in the subconscious realm.

It sounds like a very cut and dry science fiction adventure, but there is so much depth to be found as Nolan deftly guides us from reality, to dreams, to dreams within dreams, and back again. Amazingly, even when the story is at its most complex, it is still easy to follow. This movie is not made to deliberately confuse and mislead as so many films of this style have been before. It is to Nolan’s credit that, in a movie with dreams and flashbacks and living memories, the plot is still easy to follow. That is not to say the film is light on details or hidden secrets. One viewing will allow you to understand this movie, but multiple viewings will allow you to fully appreciate it.

As well conceived as the plot is, it would, of course, be wrong to undersell the actors’ role in making it work so well. Early in the film, before we are entirely convinced of the idea of using a device to enter dreams, we believe it because they do. The cast is made up of nothing but proven talent. Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the best working actors right now, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is able to stand up right alongside him playing Cobb’s longtime partner in crime. Ellen Page also finds success by finally parting with her regular troubled high school girl role. She plays a talented newcomer to the group who attempts to unravel Cobb’s past after a traumatic experience during subconscious training. There are a few Batman alumni to be found. Ken Watanabe plays Cobb’s new employer, and Cillian Murphy is the mark. Michael Caine even shows up briefly as Cobb’s mentor. They all clearly work very well with Christopher Nolan, and it is nice to see a director continue to collaborate with actors he has taken a shine to. Maybe we will see Leo in Batman 3.

Films like this do not come around as often as they should. An engrossing and original plot coupled with an amazing visual style and special effects, topped off with a superb cast without a weak link among them makes for a legitimate must-see movie. If you have grown tired of the sequels and adaptations of the summer, Inception is the reason to head back to the movie theater.