A consummate director shares his dreams--literally

Rating: Null/10 (13 July 2012)

Inception is about as complex a movie that Christopher Nolan will ever make, so far. It is clear evidence in this cinematic entrepreneur's vast mind that film making and dreaming can conjoin on mutual grounds and become a total thrill to the audience and a box office success for Hollywood. The film, which is a genius creation ten years in the making, uses the concept of dreaming on an epic scale. There's a taste of Kubrick's The Killing in there, a few artistic designs likened from Akira Kurosawa no doubt—but the psychology of it all is entirely Christopher Nolan. It is, after all, an idea from his mind.
The facetious thing about the film's plot is how it makes a metaphor for everything sacred to dreaming. In this movie, the verbal exchange, "I'm sharing my dream with you" does not elicit a whimsical date on a beach but actually sharing tangible dreams. Nolan's movie is in control of its own universe. The rules, regulations and taboos of his dream lore are explained, sometimes too thoroughly, in an interconnected fabrication of quick cut, edited scenes that all heighten into a climatic ending. For pleasing the audiences, as well as giving a little more taste to their mindless popcorn munching, the film succeeds. Others, like film pseudo-intellectuals, might criticize the absence of ambiguity. Is it because Nolan has thoroughly mastered his own world? Or that his tedium reached new levels of egoism? Whatever the answer, it sure as hell warrants the viewer to think about these things. Yes. Thinking after a movie can still exist through the throngs of visually evocative extravaganzas. (And for the record, Nolan's movie does have the power to evoke—thought in this case).
With the world set up, and as long as audiences are invested enough to follow, the plot unravels as professional dream extractors arrange to plant an idea in the mind of a company rival. Their operation unfolds like a heist as they delve deeper and deeper into the target's mind. This is all good fun, and probably one of the best McGuffin's in years. The actual grit of the story comes from Dom Cobb (Leo DiCaprio) who is guilt stricken over planting an idea in his wife's head which lead her to her suicide. In a psychological battle reminiscent of Nolan's other movie Memento, Inception's protagonist has all the workings of the quintessential Nolan character. By following Cobb, we not only suffer his psychological breakdowns, but we understand that there is indeed a human element behind the extraneous plot. As a result, we empathize, sharing both Cobb's dreams and his realities.
For a first time viewing, Inception will certainly excite. By the last shot, it incites multiple viewings—not just for clarity, but for another grasp of Nolan's intricate perspective on dreaming. I have seen it four times now. The action and thrills remain, but the premise—the very idea of the film—is still an intrigue. In the long line of movie makers, Nolan has accomplished the remarkable—he's shared his dream with us. Literally.