Inception (2010)

To start the new decade I thought I'd review one of my favorite movies of all time, Inception. With Nolan's new movie, Tenet, releasing next year I thought it would be fitting to write a review for Inception considering Nolan's trend of releasing movies at the turn of each decade. Memento in 2000, Inception in 2010, and Tenet in 2020. For some reason, this movie has left me with a profound impact every single time I've seen it, which is about a dozen times by now. Whether its the first time watching it or the dozenth time, the after-effect is ever-present. From its beautiful cinematography and soundtrack to its brilliant plot. Now the hardest part for me writing this review is not giving too much away. This is truly a movie that I do not want to spoil whatsoever and need the viewer to go in with no idea what they are about to witness. Watch this movie before reading this review. The plot runs as follows: Cobb (Di Caprio) steals information from his targets by entering their dreams. He is wanted for his alleged role in his wife's murder and his only chance at redemption is to perform the impossible, inception, which is instead of stealing ideas, planting them deep into the person's subconscious. The idea he must plant is to convince Fischer (Murphy), an energy tycoon, to dismantle his father's empire. It is incredibly hard for me to go over all the important elements of this plot so if you haven't seen this movie, I'd advise you to watch it first and then read this so that I do not have to explain all aspects. I will go over some of the essentials.

The cinematography: groundbreaking and jawdropping. It's the use of special effects combined with practical create the most realistic shots despite obvious surrealism. You see, in the dream, one can alter and create the environment around them. The result is the bending of entire cities and the creating of glorious architecture and intricate structures. Its soundtrack is also amazing, composed by the brilliant, Hans Zimmer. The soundtrack uses clips of the same song that is used to indicate the time is running out in the dream world. This movie also created one of my favorite pieces of all time called "Time". Zimmer makes it sound like a rising wave, with the ocean being a theme later in the movie with Cobb's awakening at the ocean's bay. Created by my favorite director, Christopher Nolan, Inception plays with the notion of time. Time is a giant theme throughout as each level you descend into the dream, time slows down exponentially.

Inception's first half is devoted to setting up the complex world we witness and explaining the rules of dreams. In the dream, if you die you wake up or if you're under sedative you enter a stage called limbo, or unconstructed dreamscape, where time moves nearly infinitely slow yet at a different rate than reality. The viewer is thrown into the world of Inception the minute the movie starts. It starts with Cobb attempting to steal information from the mind of Sato, a corporate CEO. He fails but is hired by Sato to assemble a team and plant an idea into a rival CEO's mind. The more you watch it the more the world slowly peels backward, revealing the intricacy and subtly underneath. We are told all the elements of this world through clever exposition. Like the totem which is used in order to differentiate reality from dream. The second half is heart-pounding. Aided by Zimmer's booming score, the team races against time as the world crumbles around them.

An interesting thing I've noticed is that each member of the team represents a person behind the scenes of a movie. Cobb represents the director as he runs the team. An interesting note is that the poster of Inception depicts Cobb with his back to the viewer, his hair looks just like the director's, Christopher Nolan. Arthur (Levitt) is the stage director as he makes sure everything runs smoothly, researching the targets beforehand. Sato (Watanabe) is the producer has he funds the team. Eams (Hardy) is the actor as he impersonates people in order to get information. Fischer (Murphy) is the audience as he is the victim of inception. The scene where Cobb must become 'Mr. Charles' and tell Fischer he's dreaming is akin to a director asking the viewer to allow themselves to believe in the world placed in front of them. This leap of faith is consistently revisited throughout this movie. Is it not the role of film to spark an idea into the minds of viewers much like what Cobb does to Fischer? Ariadne (Page) is the writer as she architects and creates the dream worlds. Mal (Cotillard) is Cobb's wife and acts as the muse. Every single person in this cast gave one of their best performances. The dialogue is also fantastic and doesn't feel like exposition even when it is. Quotes like, "you mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger darling" or "old man, filled with regret, waiting to die alone" or "take a leap of faith. Come back, so we can be young men together again” are brilliantly acted and written.

To refer to the second and third quotes mentioned in the above paragraph, this quote may be essential to diving deeper into Inception. To put it into context, it's a repeating conversation between Sato and Cobb. First, when Sato convinces Cobb to work for him, Second when Sato thinks he is about to die in the dream and third when both are stuck in limbo. Now, pay attention to the line, "filled with regret". Regret is what defines Cobb. We see that he has built an elevator to store all the moments he regrets with the basement floor being Mal's suicide. Like Fischer who keeps his innermost thoughts at his father's death bed or Sato who keeps his in a safe, Cobb's is the basement floor. Hell, the song I mentioned earlier used by Zimmer, called "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” by Edith Piaf, translates to "no, I do not regret anything" which is incredibly ironic. What keeps Cobb from moving forward is this regret. Now pay attention to the third quote: "take a leap of faith. Come back, so we can be young men together again”. This is contrasted with what Mal said about growing old together. Cobb is reminded that they did indeed grow old together as he says touchingly, "we had our time" as he holds on to her hands one last time. It is what Cobb once knew but has forgotten. We not only enter Fischer's mind but also Cobb's.

The brilliance of Inception is in its ability to be interpreted in so many different ways. For example, one would not be wrong to assume that Cobb is actually stuck in limbo and that Mal is right. There is evidence to suggest this. For one, there is constant fast cutting to locations. Unknown people are always hunting Cobb not unlike in the dream where the subconscious attacks the thieves. Kids haven't grown when they see him at the end and they stand at the exact same position as when he left. The ending is also very ambiguous with Cobb finally being reunited with his kids, his totem, the top spins before slightly wobbling and then cut to black. In the end, Cobb no longer cares if he's dreaming, he's free and sees his kids' faces.

In its essence, Inception is a love story between Mal and Cobb. The scenes they share are heartbreaking, it never fails to move me. Words cannot describe the feeling I get every time I finish this movie, it's a feeling that makes me look around and question what I see. The brilliance of Inception is that it performs inception on the viewer whether we know it or not.

- GL