89) Inception

Inception (2010)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine, Pete Postlethwaite

Nearly every night of the week I have a regular commitment, but the one which is consistently vacant is Thursday night which is brilliantly convenient because it means I can catch films on the day they are released (if you were unaware, films are released on a Thursday in Australia). So there was no way I was going to miss an opening day screening of what was, for me and I'm assuming a lot of other people, the most anticipated film of the year.

Cobb (DiCaprio) is an extractor. People employ him and his team to break into people's minds via their dreams and steal information. Cobb is approached by businessman Saito (Watanabe) about a job with a difference. Saito wants Cobb and his team to perform inception, that is, to plant an idea in someones mind rather than steal it. That someone is Robert Fischer Jr. (Murphy), the son of a major energy tycoon, and that idea is for him to dismantle his father's empire when he inherits it. While inception is very difficult, and the job is highly risky, Saito promises to use his influence to make it possible for Cobb to return to the USA, where he is a wanted man, and see his children for the first time in years, a carrot too good to refuse.

All the talk in the lead up to the film was that it was The Matrix meets James Bond. I think that is an ok comparison, though I'd be inclined to say it is what The Matrix could have been if it had better actors (in no situation does Keanu Reeves trump Leonardo DiCaprio) and a slightly better script, with characters with a bit of emotional depth, to match a good concept. I prefer the comparison made by a review in Empire magazine; that it is like a James Bond movie written by Charlie Kauffman. Either way, these comparisons are just a guide because once you've seen it all comparisons go out the window and it stands on its own.

What I loved was that the film had this deep, complex narrative structure, but you never got lost. When you're dealing with dreams, and dreams within dreams, and dreams within dreams within dreams, with all three layers of narrative operating simultaneously things can get pretty complex. But Nolan has laid the groundwork earlier with a lot of exposition, though not delivered in such a way that it is tedious, so that while Inception can achieve great complexity without losing it's clarity. Also, the use of the dream world was so clever because it instantly made things relatable for the audience. We understand the way that in a dream the most amazing things can happen and it's not until you wake up that you realise something was strange. We know exactly the sensation they are talking about when they describe 'the kick'; that sudden feeling of falling that wakes you up. While operating in a dream scape has made anything possible for Nolan, he has chosen to ground his dream world using a kind of logic which we as viewers can understand.

Christopher Nolan is so hot right now. The guy seriously can't miss. He has owned the 2000s in a manner akin to Coppola's dominance of the 1970s or Spielberg's dominance of the 1980s and 1990s. He has made six films since 2000: Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight and now Inception. The only one of those which wasn't excellent was Insomnia, but even it wasn't all that bad. He has consistently increased the scope and scale of his films, taking things to the next level when we didn't think there was one. Seriously, who'd have thought he could go up a notch after The Dark Knight? But he has done it with Inception. I'd say he's easily the most exciting mainstream directorial talent to have emerged since Quentin Tarantino burst onto the scene in the early 1990s.

While I'm heaping praise on Christopher Nolan, the question must also be asked, is there an actor in the world who picks their films better than Leonardo DiCaprio? You just have to look at some of the directors who he has worked with. It is an absolute who's who of directors of the last 20 years. Of course he has a fruitful working relationship with Martin Scorsese which has already yielded four films, but he has also worked with Steven Spielberg (Catch Me If You Can), Woody Allen (Celebrity), James Cameron (Titanic), Ridley Scott (Body of Lies), Danny Boyle (The Beach), Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road), Baz Luhrmann (Romeo + Juliet) and now Christopher Nolan. And he's not done. His next screen appearance will be as J. Edgar Hoover in Clint Eastwood's upcoming Hoover. DiCaprio backs up his stellar performance in Shutter Island earlier in the year with another brilliant display in Inception. He is fantastic in this film, giving it the emotional grounding that it needed in order for audiences to really get on board with and emotionally engage with the story. It's not the sort of film that wins Oscars for actors, but hey, The Dark Knight wasn't supposed to be either. Hopefully early next year DiCaprio will find himself with at least one Oscar nomination to mark what has been a very impressive year.

One aspect of the film I haven't made my mind up on is the very last shot. Those who have seen it will know what I'm talking about. For those who haven't I'm not going to ruin it by describing what happens. But it is obviously meant to be this moment of revelation, or at least doubt, where you go "Woah! Is this a dream?" But for me it felt a bit to self conscious and I found that as I was watching it, my thought process was one step removed from what they were aiming for. Rather than that "Woah! Is this a dream?" shock, I was thinking, "I see what he is trying to do here." At the end of Blade Runner you are left with that question, is Deckard a replicant, inspired by the appearance of the paper unicorn, and that is really effective. For me, the final moment of Inception felt a bit more gimmicky.

Inception has lived up to the hype. It is a brilliant film and is going to make an absolute killing at the box office. It is easily one of the best films of the last decade and what makes it even better is that it is an original story. It is not a sequel. It is not a remake of an old movie or television show. It is not an adaptation from a literary source. Heck, it's not even in 3D. It is just a good, old fashioned, original idea brilliantly executed. Great script. Great cast. Great effects. Great director. Great film.