So much less intelligent than it seems

Rating: 4/10 (15 January 2011)

Ten years ago, Christopher Nolan wrote and directed the brilliant 'Momento', a stunning thriller that pushed the boundaries of storytelling convention. It was great, but still, one couldn't help wondering, where would Nolan go from here? How could he trump this achievement? In fact, although his subsequent films have been praised, they've been less distinctive, but with 'Inception', he returns to his adventurous roots, producing a story that is even more audacious than 'Momento'; and unfortunately, the result is dreadful. And worse than the fact that it doesn't really work is the fact that while it is distinctive, it is distinctive in a very conventional way. Since his early success, Nolan has taken work from big studios, and 'Inception' is no exception; and the result is a Hollywood movie straining desperately to stand out, instead of something more truly independent. in spirit.
To make the point in more detail, 'Inception' features a starry cast (I'm, afraid for me, the casting of Leonardo diCaprio has become a clear sign of a poor film with pretensions); an implausibly attractive geeky female assistant; loads of expository dialogue (at one point, it is explained that someone is the most powerful media baron in the world – i.e. they appear to be so powerful that no-one had heard of them); fast pace and Jason Bourne style camera work; sub-'Matrix' style ideas about the nature of reality, superficially intriguing and certainly confusing, but of little philosophical depth; extraordinary special effects; and above all else, a plot comprising an incoherent sequence of random set-piece scenes that seems constructed to showcase said special effects rather than because it makes sense as a story. It may sound like an intriguing idea to have the cast simultaneously fighting for their lives in seven different nested dream-spaces, but in fact, it isn't; multiplying the threat to the heroes only reduces the dramatic impact of each one.
To give Nolan credit, he has made a wholly cinematic film; you certainly couldn't imagine this in book form. Sadly it's very hard to imagine it as a screenplay either, or as any sort of story. And it was story, not special effects, that made 'Momento' great; and while that story was highly unusual, it made internal sense. But less is never more in Hollywood; and sadly, more is often just a mess.