Note: I posted this on Facebook awhile back, but just got around to blogging it today. Love this movie!
“A contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind."
That was how Christopher Nolan described his new film Inception at the time of its announcement on February 11, 2009. For a long time, that line was the only tidbit of information we had on the movie. Interestingly, that's pretty much the way it stayed up until the movie's release this past Friday.
We know a lot more about Inception now than we did when we were given that description, but even after two viewings, I'm convinced that there's a lot more to uncover.
That's the beauty of Inception: even though it features a star-studded cast and one of the best action sequences ever put to film, it's the story we'll be analyzing for years to come.
Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an Extractor, a thief who specializes in using special technology to enter peoples' minds and stealing their secrets. Cobb and his team are hired by Saito (Ken Watanabe), a businessman who needs them to utilize their skills for an entirely different type of job: inception.
Cobb's team consists primarily of Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Eames (Tom Hardy) and newcomer Ariadne (Ellen Page). Cillian Murphy plays the team's mark, and Marion Cotillard plays Mal, Cobb's wife.
That's about all the plot synopsis I want to give, because I didn't know much more than that when I walked into the theater on Friday night. Suffice to say, parts of Inception play out like a typical heist movie, be it Ocean's 11 or Heat, except instead of a casino or a bank, the target is a person’s mind, and the take is that person's secrets.
Inception might seem pretentious or heavy-handed, and some may perceive it that way, but I didn’t. The movie doesn’t think it’s better than you; it provides a great deal of explanation intended to fill the viewer in on the rules of Nolan’s dream world. These rules must be remembered in order to fully grasp the greatness of the movie. For this reason, a second viewing might be necessary so you have the rules in mind before the first frame. Then you can start theorizing.
I’ve been developing theories in my head since I walked out of the theater on Friday; I wouldn’t be coming up with them if I didn’t care about the world and the characters I saw on the screen. That’s why I love this movie.
Well, that’s just one reason I love Inception. If I had to choose a second, it just might be Gordon Levitt’s “merry chase.” As Arthur diverts security away from his team in a hotel, the gravity of the hallways and rooms begins to shift, like you may have seen in the trailers and television spots. I don’t want to give anything away, other than my opinion that this is one of the best fight scenes ever put to film. It’s pretty short, but it rivals the lobby shootout in The Matrix. And it’s all shot using practical effects. Genius.
Inception has its flaws, and they aren’t really all that difficult to point out, even for a person like me who adored the film. Many of the characters are given little to no backstory, and this makes them feel less like important parts of the story than they should. Ariadne is the prime example; she’s a college student who has the “skills” Cobb needs. That’s it.
This occasional lack of character development is a small price to pay; the focus here is on Cobb and his inner struggles, and DiCaprio does a marvelous job conveying them.
We’ll be talking about Inception for years, discussing its ins and outs, and its crazy ending. Whatever I conclude (or don’t conclude) about Inception won’t change the fact that it’s a phenomenal work of cinematic art. It’s been awhile since I actually felt like staying in my seat after a movie in order to watch the next showing, but I wouldn’t have hesitated for a second after Inpcetion. When it’s over, you’ll want to see it again, just to catch the stuff you missed. And you’ll be catching stuff for a long, long time.
Props, Mr. Nolan, mad props.
No comments:
Post a Comment