INCEPTION (Christopher Nolan, 2010) ***

Rating: 7/10 (25 July 2010)

Seeing how Luis Bunuel (the master in the depiction of cinematic reveries) is my all-time favorite auteur, it goes without saying that I am fascinated by dream sequences in movies and the notion that INCEPTION was going to be an elaborate exploration of the dream-state in arty sci-fi/caper thriller terms was a potentially invigorating one. I must say that director Nolan assembled quite a remarkable cast here (even though it does feel sometimes like their names were ticked triumphantly off of a list of actors he has been wanting to work with): Leonardo Di Caprio, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page and Ken Watanabe (being the established "heavyweights"); Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Dileep Rao (the up-and-coming "new breed"); Tom Berenger, Lukas Haas and Pete Poslethwaite (the "comeback" crowd); plus Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy (from Nolan's own "stock company"). All the actors rise deftly to the occasion but I would single out Cotillard (as Di Caprio's enigmatic dead wife who haunts him constantly), Gordon-Levitt and Hardy (as members of Di Caprio's elite theme of dream-stealers) for particular praise. Two equally impressive contributions to the film's overall success are Hans Zimmer's powerful score and some truly dazzling special visual effects (especially during the amazing 'folding city' sequence). Besides, for a typically (by today's standards) protracted 148-minute movie, it was a surprisingly fast ride.
Now, as is perhaps my custom for contemporary fare, comes the barrage of reservations I had with the film which, in some people's minds, might disqualify the *** (i.e. good) rating above!: above all, I had a problem with the film's relentless desire to "have the cake and eat it too" by turning out what is, essentially, the cerebral version of the action-packed Summer blockbuster. The members of Di Caprio's team are supposed to be technological geeks but the extraordinary life-saving feats they accomplish in the movie (albeit only ever taking place in their subconscious) would make James Bond dive for his hat and pension cheque!; the latter's iconic presence is particularly recalled in the final snow-bound dream sequence that literally plays out like the 21st century version of ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969). I also found the gravity-defying flying antics of the hotel room set-piece hard to take and not a little silly (especially when Gordon-Levitt has to carry out his dormant companions on top of one another!) – and this is coming from somebody who has so far resisted the urge to watch (sacrilege of sacrileges) THE MATRIX trilogy. Again, I understand that most of what we see is supposed to be taking place in the dream-state but it felt pretty ridiculous to me to have six people all asleep at one time all the timeeven though every manner of bullet and bomb is exploding all around them! Amusingly, that enormously extended slow-motion shot of the van tumbling into the sea reminded me of Howard Hawks' (unjust in his case) denigrating comment on one of my all-time favorite Westerns i.e. Sam Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH (1969)!
On one hand, I am in awe of Christopher Nolan for having undertaken such a dauntingly complex task – creating a multi-layered maze of dreams within dreams – all by himself (even if it took him a good eight years to do so); on the other hand, however, I do not accept the fact that this should excuse several illogicalities that bugged me as I was watching it, namely: why would Di Caprio accept a newbie (albeit one as graceful as Page and who had been recommended to him by his father-in-law Caine) as part of the team for one final fling at his ultra-specialized job with an all-important outcome (reuniting him with his long-lost children)?; similarly, how on earth could a mere industrialist (Watanabe) nullify Di Caprio's murder charges by making one phone call?; what was the point of the team risking their lives repeatedly to discover the contents of Poslethwaite's vault when it has been telegraphed in advance (in that recurring photograph of Murphy as a boy) all along? – irresistible shades of CITIZEN KANE (1941)'s "Rosebud" climactic revelation perchance?; I am sure there was a rock-solid reason for Nolan and Zimmer to go for Edith Piaf's "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" anthem as the team's 'wake-up' tunebut the Cotillard connection made it seem far too deliberate. The one cardinal sin that the film commits, in my humble opinion, is that none of the dreams seemed the least bit dream-like to me! They are far too realistically realized and cleverly choreographed to ever attain the jumbled-up and repetitive nature of a true dream {sic}. Although one could easily tell whose dream we were in at any given point in time (since that character is virtually the protagonist in his own vision), I have to admit to losing sight of the stakes in some of them and, what is worse, I did not really care! Equally unimportant, it seems to me, was whether the totem would stop spinning, fall off the table or whatever in that 'not-all-that-unexpected' open ending!!