Wow. Leaving the cinema after seeing this film I felt intellectually drained, like Nolan had crept into the cinema during the film and started tugging at various synapses in an attempt to leave me a stumbling, speechless mess at the end of the film. It worked.
So what's Inception about? Let me watch it again and I might be able to tell you. The complex plot tells the tale of Dominic Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is a professional thief who steals thoughts from people's minds whilst they are dreaming. Throughout the film we discover that Cobb is being held accountable for his wife's murder and cannot return to the U.S to see his children. Saito, a Japanese businessman, offers Cobb one last job for which he will grant Cobb access to his children again. Unfortunately the job is deemed almost impossible; to plant, rather than extract, an idea into the son of Saito's rivals' mind. To achieve the task Cobb puts together a team and creates an elaborate series of dreams within dreams which is constantly being sabotaged by subconscious memories of his wife Mal (Marion Cotillard).
Never before has a film created such a fervent discussion as the credits roll. Dreams often cause confusion, but Inception causes mass hysteria. Was it all a dream? Does Cobb ever wake up? Is the whole film just Cobb's rehabilitation with the architect really his therapist? (For a close analysis read http://blog.moviefone.com/2010/07/19/dissecting-inception-six-interpretations-and-five-plot-holes/). For those that have seen it, you'll surely appreciate that twang of annoyance that comes with the lack of closure in the final scene. Such a complex plot was surely a risk for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, but it's a risk I'm glad they took.
Leonardo DiCaprio is worth a mention. Has he ever done a bad film? I mean, the Beach wasn't great, but he seems to rarely get out of bed for anything less than an Oscar nominated script. His performance in Inception was, as ever, exceptional. His tortured expression relaying the pathos of his character in such a relaxed fashion that, if I were an aspiring actor, I'd probably go back to bed, watch The Departed, and cry myself to sleep.
I couldn't hope to dream up a script like Nolan's Inception in a month of bleak, hangover-induced Sundays. What Nolan has achieved with Inception is one of the most thought provoking and visually impressive pieces of cinema since The Matrix. Following The Dark Knight with Inception has propelled Christopher Nolan to the upper echelons of the Hollywood elite, and I sincerely hope he can stay there.
Spielberg or Iceberg?
Best film of the year, definitely Spielberg.
