even having to sit in the front row and crane my neck for 2 1/2 hours could not deprive the thrilling delectation of this modern masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (13 August 2010)

I think that Christopher Nolan is quickly establishing himself as one of the two or three best movie directors of today. He ranks up there with names such as Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese and one day may join the ranks of the all-time masters such as Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock. One of the reasons why Nolan is such a great artist is that he not only knows how to construct a great film and draw in an audience like a moth to a light, but because he is daring and more than willing to explore new territory and try new things. And yet, like those who undoubtedly inspired him, he always hits the nail on the head. He has turned in one masterpiece after another in recent years and "Inception" is arguably his best yet. Even his last great movie, "The Dark Knight" seems pale in comparison to this epic-proportion, modern masterpiece. Alongside Clint Eastwood's masterpiece "Changeling," this film I consider to be one of the best movies of the past ten years.
"Inception" is one of those movies that has to be seen to be believed. And no matter how much I describe it, I can't do it justice. But I'll do my best. Nolan sets his film is an alternative reality or timeline where technology allows one to enter the human subconscious through dreams. Leonardo DiCaprio, giving one of his best performances yet, is one of these dream thieves, if you want to call him that, who joins a team of others in invading the mind of a business heir (Cillian Murphy) to achieve what even their technology cannot: inception. What that is, you'll have to find out. Because I won't even bother to try to explain it further. I would run out of space.
"Inception" is a thinking-man's movie. It is required of the audience to use their own cognitive capacities to follow the story. For that reason, some will be turned away from it, wanting the movies simply for escapism rather than an experience. But for those who do not mind thinking and fighting to follow along, "Inception" is absorbing all the way through. It's one of those movies where you have to see everything all the way through else you will miss something important. It changes directions, furthers its convoluted plot, builds new sequences and ideas, and best of all, keeps the audience guessing. The screenplay by director Christopher Nolan is hands-down brilliant and will surely garner him a well-deserved Academy Award nomination. Nolan not only fills his film with good characters and profound dialogue, but explains and details settings and concepts, building enormous plausibility that draws in the audience and keeps them involved. The screenplay, like with any great film, is hands-down the central core of "Inception"'s power. Like a heart, it pumps vitality to the exterior elements and weaves a all-effective whole. But what's also great is the way Nolan makes us guess. And he does not wrap things up clearly, nor does he leave open suggestion for a sequel, but like Alfred Hitchcock did with "Vertigo," closes it with a certain level of uncertainty and lets the audience ponder and think for themselves.
Leonardo DiCaprio is a wonderful actor and he has never been better. He's come along way from simply playing the heartthrob romantic interest that he did in movies such as "Titanic" and has fully revealed his true colors as a multi-faceted actor. The movie is also powered by strong performances by Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the great Ken Watanabe, Tom Berenger, and Tom Hardy. Next to DiCaprio, however, the best performance is by the enthralling young actress Ellen Page, who is sort of like the everyman (or woman) in the crowd. She's us. She's trying to figure things out. Trying to adapt and understand things as we go along. And she figures it out faster than we do. And she does a fantastic job at it too. Frankly, there's not a single weak performance in the movie.
Nor is there any fat to trim. Every scene, every cut, every angle, is imperative and taut. Even at two and a half hours, "Inception" never loses its power. There are no moments where we think "Okay, that could have been shorter" or "that wasn't really necessary. They could have cut that for timing's sake." No, everything fits like a jigsaw puzzle. Heck, that's a good analogy for the movie as a whole, unless maybe you want to consider the ending a missing piece for us to find ourselves...in our own minds. I walked into "Inception" having heard all the hype. And right from the beginning, I predicted that myself and the other people in the theater were in for something great. Boy, we sure were. My only complaint about my experience was that I had to sit in the front row of the theater, with my neck craned up for two and a half hours. But the pain was only at the end, when the movie was over. Even that irritating little seating predicament could not deprive the thrilling delectation of this modern masterpiece. I very much admire Nolan's previous movies, especially "The Dark Knight" but "Inception" could very well be for him what "Vertigo" was to Alfred Hitchcock: a masterpiece of masterpieces.