The Story of a Man Confronting his Demons

Rating: 9/10 (10 August 2013)

The FAQ section on IMDb on this movie is quite extensive and practically covers every aspect of this film. It is also interesting to note that it also outlines Nolan's ideas behind the film, in particular that many of the ideas come from a book called 'A Course in Miracles'. While Nolan says that the idea behind this film is original, there are aspects of this film, such as the nature of the dream, and the question of whether we are living in a dream world, that has been explored in earlier movies, such as 'The Matrix' and 'Total Recall' (the 1989 version). Then there is the question as to whether the entire movie exists within a dream, or whether the dream sequences are only those sequences in which we are told as dreams. This, however, is discussed in the FAQ, and I will leave it up to you to read that for yourself.
The main theme that I got out of the film, and after reading the FAQ, I have come to understand that this is the theme that Nolan intended, is the story of a man who is confronting his demons, though the FAQ more accurately describes it as guilt. The idea is that we are burdened down by the guilt of our actions in the past and until we are able to confront them, and forgive ourselves for them, then they will continue to burden us. We can respond in multiple ways, including blaming others for these events, beating ourselves up for these events, or simply accepting forgiveness (in whatever sense that forgiveness is offered). In the film it is clear that Cobb is beating himself up, despite him actually being innocent in the whole affair.
Using the concept of shared dreams, and the vehicle of science-fiction, Nolan explores how the guilt of our past actions continues to haunt us. In Cobb's world this is the continual emergence of Mab, and also of his children, and at one point, the train that goes flying through the middle of the city street. It is clear that Cobb holds himself responsible for Mal's death (which, interestingly enough, means 'evil' in the Romance languages – most likely representing the evil that we have done in our past, or the evil that has been done to us, which in turn burdens us down). As is also clear in the film, it is the act of forgiving, whether it be forgiving ourselves, or forgiving the perpetrator of that evil, that enables us to free ourselves from that burden.
Another idea is the idea of inception. This idea is that a little seed that is planted into our mind, usually subconsciously, can grow to change our entire character. In many cases, it is implanted into us in a dream, but in doing so, it can send us off into a dream state, and result in us being unable to differentiate truth from fantasy. It can work in two ways though, and in one way it can simply be a means of oppressing and enslaving people. For instance a bully can use inception to convince you that you are not being bullied, and that the bully is actually looking out for you, and by giving yourself over to that idea, you in turn become a slave to the bully.
This idea comes over to the dream world as well, because when we become the subject of an inception, we end up becoming trapped in a dream world. Now in saying this I am not necessarily attacking post-modernism, but rather an extreme form which suggests that the only reality is that reality that we create for ourselves. There is the idea that everybody experiences reality differently, but there is another, extreme view, that the only true reality is the reality that that one particular person experiences, and that if somebody does not submit themselves to that reality, then they are living in a dream. What post-modernism does is not justify everybody's individual realities, but accepts that the world, and the events in the world, will be view differently by different people. One person may enjoy a party, but another person may hate it, however, if the person who hated it insists that everybody who enjoyed the party is delusional, then that is the person who is trapped in a dream.