Inception is a sci-fi action thriller set in a time where the technology exists to be able to enter the dream state of others to potentially influence, extract (steal secrets) and to implant ideas, otherwise known as ‘inception’. Remember seeing those trailer snapshots of this mysterious film last year? Well here it is, fully loaded and in cinemas now. With an intriguing plot, spectacular camerawork and jaw-dropping special effects, Christopher Nolan’s Inception is without doubt the most hotly anticipated ‘mystery’ blockbuster of summer 2010.
The Plot
The story follows Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) as one of the best ‘extractors’ in the world where his job is to enter the subconscious of a subject whilst they are asleep and extract, or essentially, steal secrets of the mind. His skills have not only given him ample work as the best extractor in the business and lead him and his team into the world of corporate espionage, but his skills have also cost him his children, his wife and a life of normality. Consequently he is also a fugitive of the United States and is unable to return home to his children until one day, the target of Cobb’s latest extraction job, Saito (Ken Watanabe) proposes an offer that he cannot refuse, the chance to be free of the suspected charges brought against him by the United States and to return home and be a father to his children.
With Cobb leading the charge, he and his trusted team (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy and Dileep Rao) are set the challenge to not extract secrets as normal, but to cause inception instead. And what is inception? Inception is the ability to plant a seed, an idea, deep in someone’s subconscious without their knowledge and successfully let the idea mature and grow naturally until it eventually creates a far-reaching desired result in reality. Sounds relatively simple enough but problems and sabotage are never far away with security companies training high-risk clients to mentally battle and protect themselves from extractors like Cobb from successfully penetrating their subconscious, and additional personal struggles come from within, with the image of Cobb’s deceased wife Mal (Marion Cotillard) making haunting violent appearances as the caged lost soul, locked in Cobb’s memory of pain and guilt.
Cillian Murphy, Lukas Haas, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine and Pete Postlethwaite also star.
The Thoughts
Leonardo DiCaprio (Shutter Island, The Departed, Gangs Of New York, Titanic) plays Cobb, the expert extractor who, after attempting to extract secrets from Saito, a powerful Japanese business man (Ken Wanatabe), is given the tempting offer to have his life back if he can successfully pull off inception, to implant an idea into the subconscious of a rival energy company’s heir Robert Fischer Jr., (Cillian Murphy) that will in reality cause the Fischer corporation to destabilise and thus free up the market for Saito’s company. If Cobb and his team can do it, the prize is worth more than any amount of money. If Saito honours his promise, he can make one phone call and lift the charges brought against Cobb so that he may return home to the United States and be reunited with his two young children.
DiCaprio has really blossomed as a serious actor since becoming older and more experienced (his seminal performance for me was his role as Billy Costigan in Scorsese’s The Departed), he is as ever, wonderful to watch on screen, with his emotional performance in the role of Cobb being both captivating and necessary.
Looking at DiCaprio’s acting repertoire, it is clear to see that he will continue to be a firm favourite at the Academy Awards as his impeccable taste for choosing interesting roles with creative directors sees no way in slowing.
Academy Award winner Marion Cotilard (Nine, Public Enemies, La Vie En Rose) plays Mal, Cobb’s deceased wife who appears to him in his subconscious when he sleeps and works as an extractor. Mal’s aggressive nature, violent outbursts and desire to sabotage and guilt-trip Cobb means that he is barely ever rested when he sleeps as she materialises in his dreams, angry, confused and lost. Cotillard provides a solid performance as Mal, the distressed lost soul, her emotive presentation is almost scary and haunting at times and her character acts as a good plot developer to keep the audience guessing and questioning why Cobb is so fearful and guilt-ridden.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Wanatabe ,Ellen Page, Tom Hardy and Dileep Rao make up Cobb’s team of dream walkers. Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer) plays Arthur, the planner of the team, his job is to research the target down to the last detail and to design the plan and anticipate any contingencies during the dream walking. Ellen Page (Juno, Whip It!) plays Ariadne, a gifted young architecture student picked out by Miles (played by screen legend Michael Caine) as the person who could be up for the job of designing the complex three layered maze for their target Robert Fischer Jr. (Cillian Murphy) to dream walk in. Ken Wanatabe is Saito, the man who has the power to give Cobb his life back, he inadvertently joins Cobb’s team to ensure that inception happens. Meanwhile Tom Hardy (Bronson, RocknRolla) plays Eames, the cheeky English chap who’s on screen banter with Arthur is both amusing and adds some comedic effect to what is quite a serious film. Finally Dileep Rao (Avatar) plays Yusuf, the chemist who concocts sedative potions to send the dream walkers into a deep sleep so that they may do their job more effectively.
Cillian Murphy (The Dark Knight, 28 Days Later) plays Robert Fischer Jr., the target of Cobb’s team. He is the heir to a vast energy empire and will soon take over once his already frail and sick father (Maurice Fischer, played by Pete Postlethwaite) passes away. The only idea Cobb and his team need to implant in Fischer’s mind is that he needs to split his father’s empire up, thus freeing up the energy market for Saito and preventing the Fischer corporation from building a monopoly. It is unsurprising to see Murphy appear in Inception as he also appeared as the villain Dr. Jonathon Crane aka The Scarecrow in Nolan’s Batman series (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight) but it is wrong to think that Murphy got the role through association as his acting skills stands up for itself, especially in Danny Boyle’s Sunshine, 28 Days Later and in Girl With A Pearl Earring.
Legends Michael Caine, Tom Berenger and Pete Postlethwaite all have relatively minor cameo roles but it is good to see them still active on screen.
As for the writing and direction: Christopher Nolan. What can I say but ‘wow’? Nolan impressed millions of moviegoers when he wrote and directed The Dark Knight, part of the Batman movie franchise and was especially touched when the late Heath Ledger posthumously received the Academy Award for best actor in a supporting role. Nolan claimed that the reason he cast Ledger in the role of the Joker was that Ledger was apparently ‘fearless’ and he could not see anyone else playing the Joker. Well, Nolan has done it again with Inception and delivered an impressive slice of escapism. Not only is the cast well put together, but the combination of the complexity and intrigue of the story, script and the jaw-dropping camerawork and special effects make this movie exceptional. There are moments that literally make you stop and think while you are watching, ‘how on earth did they film that?’ with some of the most impressive scenes being the super-slow motion camerawork and the zero-gravity scenes.
Complex and intense, Inception does not have the easiest of concepts and plot lines to follow, albeit that is part of the interest and pull of this movie, simply the mind-blowing notion that if it were possible to dream walk, just imagine what you could get up to! However difficult some may conceive the ideas in Inception to be, forget all that and immerse yourself in Nolan’s vision, pay close enough attention and this clever mind-bending thriller will provide very high rewards indeed.
I do however, have one or two words of reservations. They employ Ellen Page’s character (Ariadne) to be their dream world architect, but they do not go into detail in explaining how it is possible to construct an entirely fictional world in a dream. In addition, Nolan also does not address how Eames (Tom Hardy’s character, the forger) is able to change his appearance to look like any other person. Nevertheless, I do sympathise with Nolan and fully understand that too much explaining in film and suddenly it all becomes far too confusing for the average audience to follow, so in that vein, I completely understand why Nolan left those two issues unaddressed. You just have to push those two questions aside and roll with it!
Inception is without doubt, the most unmissable film of the year. It’s this year’s Avatar, completely original, with mind-blowing concepts, delectable special effects, emotional, yet often humorous and will keep you on the edge of your seat till the very end, begging the question as the house lights go up, will there be an Inception 2 or will that spinning top finally fall over?
The Film Buzz Review Rating: 
(9.5/10)
Release Date: 16th July 2010 (in cinemas now and see it at a cinema for optimal viewing of both sight and sound!)
Director and Writer: Christopher Nolan
Links: IMDb, Official Site
