Inception
Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” has only been out for a weekend, and already it seems to be single-handedly saving summer 2010. Why? It’s the rare blockbuster that’s actually an airtight science fiction thriller, full of good old-fashioned heist mechanics and a startlingly fresh, original concept.
The plot follows Leo DiCaprio’s travails as dream thief Dom Cobb as he builds a crack team of experts to assist him in “inception,” or the planting of an idea through a dream. The story begins slowly, but steadily gets more and more exhilarating, culminating in a climax that takes place in five different levels of consciousness. There’s something to be respected about an idea that can take ten seconds and stretch it into an epic fight for survival all taking place within a character’s mind.
Even the pieces that don’t necessarily stay watertight once the credits roll are convincing as they happen onscreen. I actually found my favorite part of the film was the fact that all of the internal logic of the movie (and, to some degree, all movies) operates the same way Nolan interprets dreams. For example:
1) Dreams have no beginning. Probably the most notable because that's what makes the last scene so intense. Movies have to feature smash cuts, jumps from one time to another, but by the end the audience is actively doubting the legitimacy of the story because of it.
For the record, I don’t believe that last scene was a dream. What I find the achievement to be is that even as I knew the movie couldn’t end with such a pat ending, I wanted it to. I was sitting at the edge of my seat. I had begun to doubt the reality in which I was immersed for the last two hours. And I was invested in DiCaprio’s character far more than I had realized. I wanted him to break free from Moll and rejoin reality.
2) In dreams, something might seem logical, even if it makes little sense afterward. The "one last job" structure of the story gets the audience immediately on board because of familiarity. But on second thought, there are many holes in the story.
Watanabe goes directly to DiCaprio and Gordon-Levitt, even though they supposedly work for a large corporation. This corporation tried to steal from Watanabe and failed, so he kidnapped one of their team members? And then was taken on as a client? (I'm sorry, the part with the helicopter made the least sense to me.)
The corporation (none of whom are seen throughout the whole film) employs DiCaprio despite the fact that he's a wanted man in the US, and also allows him to take bribes from clients (his freedom to return home).
DiCaprio claims he cannot see his children, but Caine (their grandfather) works in Paris. Where he speaks with DiCaprio. And presumably COULD BRING THE CHILDREN. Thus the circumstances of the domestic drama is somewhat forced.
3) Once a dream is created, the dreamer will fill it with a history. These characters are not particularly richly rendered. The performances are pretty strong across the board, but backstory is limited, even in the broadest sense. How does one become a dream thief? Caine’s character seems to be a professor, but of what sort? Does he believe DiCaprio killed his daughter? If not, then why does he endorse DiCaprio’s undercover life?
As the viewer, I filled in little details like this for myself, spending my time following the plot and being delighted at the touches of detail when it came to the dream extraction.
4) Sensation of time in dreams. Obviously, a movie that actually takes places over the course of two hours is a gimmick and not the norm. The average film compresses days/weeks/months into a two hour period. Nolan artfully juggled multiple compressed narratives while maintaining a great sense of pacing and timing.
I was impressed by “Inception.” I thought it worked as an action/science fiction flick and did have a little something to say about the nature of reality and accepting it, by using the way we accept the reality of a film world as his working example. Clever and interesting enough for me; the concept was probably the most surprisingly original one I've seen in a while.
Nolan returns to themes he usually favors. Obsession has pervaded from “Momento” to “The Prestige” to his Batman movies. Self-destructive heroes are blinded by their inability to relent. It is an idea borrowed straight from noir. It follows DiCaprio here, with Marion Cotillard as the femme fatale that just so happens to be dead. She haunts DiCaprio’s dream world with menace, destroying his ability to connect with the living; destroying his chance to reunite with the rest of his family. It’s a strong performance and a rich trope, but Nolan isn’t opposed to some subversion: in the climactic showdown, DiCaprio recognizes Cotillard’s lack of complexity, finally letting her go because she’s “just a shade” of his wife.
“Inception” has the buzz it deserves, and is probably the first movie of the summer (or even the year) to warrant multiple viewings. It fires on all cylinders and is the best mainstream hit since “The Matrix.” Nolan’s exploited his strengths and acknowledged some of his plotting weaknesses, drawing them back into the film with a knowing sort of workmanship. Hopefully a new American classic.
