Release Date: 7/16/2010
Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an extractor. A thief of the human mind. He steals valuable secrets from deep within the subconsciousness, at a time when it’s most vulnerable: During a dream. In the world of high-stakes corporate espionage, Cobb’s rare ability to dive into the mind puts him at the forefront of “guns-for-hire.” But it’s also made him an international fugitive. He’s had to sacrifice nearly everything, and leave behind nearly everyone he’s ever loved. However, Cobb and his loyal brain-diving partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are presented with an ultimatum, and a chance to make it all right again. Mr. Saito (Ken Watanabe), a heavy-weight corporate tycoon, presents them with an offer. Rather than extracting a secret from a dreamer’s subconscious, Cobb and his team must plant the seed of an idea instead. The art of inception.
But in order to pull off this grandiose scheme of mental spelunking, Cobb: The Extractor, and Arthur: The Pointman, must recruit an all-star team of criminals. There’s Eames (Tom Hardy): The Forger and at-will shape-shifter, Ariadne (Ellen Page): The Architect, Yusuf (Dileep Rao) the man keeping Cobb and his team heavily sedated for the duration of inception, and then there’s Robert Fischer: The Mark. At the tragic core of Inception, is Cobb’s relationship with his wife Mal (Marion Cotillard). Haunting and menacing and at the same time delicate and intriguing. The mysterious history of these two characters feeds the film like a conveyor belt, but is only revealed as if it were a dream itself, with the audience only catching glimpses of what once was. We only witness the presence of Mal in a handful of scenes, each of which is more powerful than the next.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Cobb is the centerpiece of Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece. Displaying a wide range of emotions from guilt, torment and paranoia, DiCaprio drives Inception towards it’s ultimate satisfying resolution. While the supporting performances, aren’t as complex, they’re just as solid. Tom Hardy is easily the most likable. As the devilishly charasmatic “forger and shape-shifter,” it’s difficult not to stand behind Eames and root like hell. Ellen Page has made a complete 180 from the last time she was in this kind of spotlight. Needless to say there’s no sign of teen pregnancy in this role. There is however, a child’s imagination gone wild through which we experience the world of the dream. And as she experiments with this world, we get a chance to see Paris fold on top of itself. Just one of a handful of jaw-dropping visuals. Ken Watanabe brings an elegance to a corporate suit and helps in feeding the story’s adrenaline. Cillian Murphy was a pleasant surprise. As Robert Fischer, heir to a multi-billion dollar industry, he brings a emotional stability to a story that hinders on his subconscious.
And as for the man behind Inception: Christopher Nolan, well, I can’t say enough. A man who’s been compared to the greats of the industry – Stanley Kubrick, Akira Kurosawa and Alfred Hitchcock. But to me, this much is clear: Christopher Nolan stands alone as THEE preeminent filmmaker. He’s undoubtedly the best there is. Every time he manages to surpass my expectations. First there was Memento, which I never thought he would be able to top. Then came his revitalization of the Batman franchise with Batman Begins followed later by the world-wide phenomena The Dark Knight. In between those works of art, he made The Prestige, which was easily one of the best films made that year. And now he’s made Inception. A movie as flirtatious with perfection as one can get. Hailed as “James Bond meets The Matrix,” and “This generation’s Blade Runner.” This much is true, Inception is like nothing you’ve ever seen.
“You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, Darling.”
In a year of sequels, remakes, comic book spin-offs and pure Hollywood regurgitation, Inception proves to be the one stand alone exception. The one genuinely original concept. With gravity-defying action sequences, a thunderous score, heart-wrenching emotion, and one hell of a performance from Mr. DiCaprio, Inception isn’t just the movie event of the summer, not just the movie of the year, but perhaps the movie of my dreams.
IMDb: 9.4/10
Rottentomatoes: 84%
MovieWiseGuys: 10/10
