"Inception" (2010)

Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page peer out onto the shore of the subconscious.  Inception, 2010.

  Imagine Christopher Nolan as a child building sandcastles not unlike the structures in "Inception". Then he destroys them. What he does next is unclear, but I'm certain that before he arrives at that conclusion, he wonders how he built it and what made him destroy it, and that's what fascinates him most.  It's as if the flourishing labyrinths he constructs have never had destinations at all.  Instead, they open reflexive doors that demand exploration.  I doubt Nolan's characters have heard of pre-determinism a day in their lives.  And not since Quentin Tarantino emerged to helm "Pulp Fiction" has a filmmaker been so pristinely clear about the rules by which the dimensions of those characters operate.  Christopher Nolan knows his universe, and guides us through it more as a host than as a writer-director.

  To explain the plot of "Inception" is pointless.  Such an exercise would be like trying to explain someone how to work a Rubick's Cube, rather than just allowing them to navigate it for themselves, discovering as they go.  It is the film's composition, its design, and ultimately its apt ability to evoke response that is infinitely more important. Some may find it laughable. Others will be quick to dismiss its dialogue as shallow minded psycho-babble.  Those in admiration will incessantly pluck through its questionable holes in continuity, obsessing over arguments for something more tangible, more lucid. The objections one may have can only stem from either love or hate. Such is the mark of filmmaking of a high order.

  "Inception" is a deftly blended cocktail of noir and surrealism, pulled off with the conventions of an action thriller that gives dreams a life that is both metaphysical and rich in its enormity. One of the film's secrets is the way in which it avoids giving its guiding vessel, Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio)'s journey one particular purpose. The lengths Cobb will go to attain catharsis are the only inklings he has of a compass. The weight of his conviction is measured by bold and breathtaking physical feats, instead of hand-delivered motivation, or "plot points".

  I have read some criticisms of Nolan's sculpting of this kind of literal dream-scape construct as a negative, and understand where one might find it too objective.  I do not believe in literal confines within narrative as being equated with literal-mindedness, and found it to work for me. With ways in which Cobb describes the depths of dreams he and his team set out to raid, I am reminded of a recurring action sequence from the James Bond franchise - in which Bond scales the outside walls of buildings with a harness and bungee cord, with some delicate determination to infiltrate. In a sense, this is Nolan's own Bond movie, and Cobb is his super-agent.

  Descending, then reascending projections of reality, the subconscious mind, paradoxical occurrences and dreams within dreams manage to keep us in the present of each moment that holds this balance at stake, and translate what could be lost in pseudo-philosophy into compelling adventure. The film invites us to play a game that raises fundamental questions of existentialist dread, while confronting them as the characters do, through classical staples of the great heist and crew-oriented films like 1969's "The Italian Job" or Spielberg's "Munich".

  The pieces to such a game are elaborate, but not without necessity. There is an assembling of Cobb's team that calls into play several members, all with a crucial importance. Their assignment - to perform inception, the covert implantation of an idea in one's mind to pass it off as that person's own idea - becomes fluid with the introduction of associate Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Eames (Tom Hardy), Yusuf (Dileep Rao), a chemist, and the newly recruited Ariadne (Ellen Page).

  At first I found myself asking why Cobb remained explaining the nature of their dream navigation in such consistent fashion, almost ad nauseam. Then it occurred to me: he's rationalizing this world as he goes, perpetuating the process of this continuous, unraveling one man.  Cobb's brooding over wife Mal (played with haunting grace by Marion Cotillard) intertwines an emotional output that furthers the growth of this obsession with each devastating circumstance that rifts in time.  DiCaprio has solidified his status as our generation's leading man, while adding ink to the stamp he has now made for himself as a purveyor of films dealing with psychological turmoil.  It's a mark he can bear proudly.

Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) plunges into his inner depths.  Inception, 2010.

  All actors bring incredible range and a subtle sense of discovery to their roles.  The character of Ariadne is a fascinating complement to Cobb in a similar respect, with her role as "architect" in their grand scheme sharing this constant discovery with his fiendish self-exploration.  The always fresh Cillian Murphy, as Fischer, a young corporate heir at a crossroads of identity is again inspired in his role.  Fischer's final meeting with a father with whom he has always been at odds plucks at hues of sadness, shame and self-doubt, which is met by a triumph of discourse and humanity.

  Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Arthur is another expertly played performance of straight-forwardness.  At times, he evokes the supporting and balancing sincerity of Robert Duvall's consigliere Tom Hagan in "The Godfather".  Levitt's performance is always quietly calculated, with subtle mediation.  He provides Dom and all those roped into his anxiety-ridden roller coaster with a sense of gravity that allows them to recollect themselves, while setting the film's pacing at ease.

   I'll run the risk of stealing the title from a song by Jason Mraz when I say that "Inception" commands the powers of its cast with the dynamo of volition.

  I have not met Christopher Nolan, and I have yet to hear him speak extensively about "Inception", as it was, as always, my prerogative to maintain a clean slate before absorbing the film.  I do feel, however, that I know something about him.  I know he believes in this construct of dreams he has created, in the same way Machiavelli perceives the world to be able to be condensed in a blueprint of conduct and decisiveness.  I know that he is a man who is unafraid - without hesitation - to make films that exercise his relentless affinity for self-discovery, however dark or unfulfilling it might be.  With "Inception", I think he has reached some level of fulfillment.

  The essence of Nolan's vision could have likely drawn inspiration from the surrealist, paradoxical art of M.C. Escher, those mirroring echoes of deep-seated torment.  Wally Pfister, a collaborator with Nolan dating back ten years ago in 2000's "Memento" deserves an Oscar nomination for his piercing cinematography, which inspires awe on the shores of our most primal human fears and dreams, literally and figuratively.  There is a virtuous motif of a spinning top Cobb keeps nearby that is perhaps the most meditative of all of the director's iconic staples, more so even than the twisted philosophy of the anarchic Joker in his "The Dark Knight".  To follow its presence as you watch, is to succumb to a seduction that harnesses universal principle.

M.C. Escher's Drawing Hands, 1948.

   "Inception" can be viewed as a thorough massaging of the senses and a cerebral fantasy, although Dom Cobb is completely unaware of the existence of such make-watch-easy labels, which enriches the performance leaps and bounds.  Its special effects are never exploited, but brushed over the film's ideas and notions with the faith that they'll stick.  They are astonishing not so much by way of flashy demonstration, but in the way they are transposed, fixated on and revealed.  The misconception of the film as a sci-fi shoot 'em up picture is an unfortunate communication breakdown, with advertising campaigns at the center of responsibility.

  Make no mistake:  this is a film withheld by no boundaries or contrivances.  It's for anyone with a sense of marvel, who still yearns to take flight on their own terms.  And for those who continue to challenge what we should accept as we inhabit the world, as each day passes.

  Nolan's script contains what he understands to be true, designs it in abstraction and holds it to that standard, sending it all the way home.  The film will also prove that virtually none of my review can encapsulate experience, only project it.  I bear in mind that it is July, but for now, he has crafted the most captivating achievement of 2010.


★★★★★ (5/5)


Cast & Credits

Cobb:  Leonardo DiCaprio
Saito:  Ken Watanabe
Arthur:  Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Mal:  Marion Cotillard
Ariande:  Ellen Page
Eames:  Tom Hardy
Robert Fischer, Jr.:  Cillian Murphy
Browning:  Tom Berenger
Miles:  Michael Caine
Yusuf:  Dileep Rao
Maurice Fischer:  Pete Postlethwaite

Warner Brothers presents a film written and directed by Christopher Nolan.  Running time:  148 minutes.  MPAA rating:  PG-13 (For sequences of violence and action throughout).