Inception (Warner Bros.)
Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout.
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Marion Cotillard, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Caine, Lukas Haas.
Written and directed by Christopher Nolan.
GRADE: A
REVIEW
I love dreams. I love to analyze them, remember them and hear about them. To me, dreams are living metaphors of our hopes, fears and deepest secrets. I don't know if Christopher Nolan feels the same, but his latest film Inception certainly proves he can dream up some incredible cinematic stuff.
It would be a futile act to try and explain the plot of Inception. I suppose all you need to know are a few basics. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb, a professional 'extractor' hired to enter the minds of others and steal their secrets by some sort of telepathic and deep sedation technology. Cobb leads a mind probing team, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt as point man Arthur, Dileep Rao as Yusuf the chemist, Tom Hardy as Eames the forger, and new recruit Ellen Page as the architect.
Cobb's team is hired by businessman Saito (Ken Watanabe) to plant an idea in the mind of an ailing business rival's son (Cillian Murphy) to get him to dismantle his father's business empire. Saito joins Cobb's group as they enter the mind of young Robert Fischer Jr. and attempt to induce a triple-layered dream state where they can make Fischer believe he should get out of dad's business.
Along the way, Cobb is haunted by the shadow of his wife Mal (Marion Cotillard) who enters the dreams and messes things up. In the real world, Cobb is blamed for Mal's death and is forced to live out of the U.S., away from his small children.
Inception's ending scene is also well worth the wait; a perfect fit for a nearly perfect movie.
Inception is perhaps the most original, imaginative and stunning movie of the year. I have long lamented the absence of any original ideas coming out of Hollywood, and when I heard about Nolan's latest project, I was more than a little pleased, since he hasn't failed to disappoint so far in his short body of cinematic work (Memento, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight). Nolan is a breath of fresh Hollywood air; an oasis in the middle of a vast, desolate crappy movie landscape. I can only hope that he keeps on making movies by his own standards and doesn't get swallowed up by the corporate Hollywood machine, compelled to direct some sort of film version of The Smurfs (do you hear me, Wachowski brothers?) I also hope his ego doesn't transcend his movies (James Cameron, anyone?).
Besides the mind-bending story of Inception, the cast is fantastic as well. DiCaprio proves he's becoming one the best actors of our time, while continuing to step out of his heart throb status. Joseph Gordon-Levitt also proves he is much more than the kid in Angels in the Outfield and Third Rock from the Sun, much as he did in last year's 500 Days of Summer (one of the best films of 2009). Ellen Page proves she can be clever and witty without channeling her dry Juno characterization. Other actors in the Inception ensemble are equally brilliant, including Tom Hardy as the tough but witty Eames along with Batman alums Cillian Murphy and Michael Caine (as Cobb's father). Oscar winner Marion Cotillard isn't bad either, nor is Tom Berenger. It's a pretty solid cast, including a two Oscar winners (Cotillard, Caine) and several nominees (DiCaprio, Watanabe, Page and Tom Berenger, who plays a corporate lieutenant).
The visual effects are another driving force behind Inception's success, with incredible landscapes (or dreamscapes) and great special effects. The action is equally brilliant, especially during one particular sequence involving a weightless battle.
Something else worth noting about Inception is its MPAA rating of PG-13. It is absent of any f-bomb laced dialogue, gratuitous sex, or graphic violence, which is refreshing in a Hollywood that seems committed to pushing the boundaries of taste in the name shock value and cheap laughs. It is a scary movie for little kids, so leave the pre-teens at home. That said, some teens might not "get" Inception, which might be a movie to clever for itself. I know I want to see it again, just to make sure I saw what I thought I saw.
Some may argue that Inception borrows from other films like The Matrix, but I suppose that could be construed as a compliment since The Matrix is another great achievement in imaginative film making. Like The Matrix, Inception takes us to places we never knew existed, even if only in our minds. In that way, Inception is a truly original idea.
I wish I'd thought of it.
