Brilliant piece of storytelling with poor characterization makes for a mostly great film

Rating: 9/10 (17 July 2010)

Inception is a considerable achievement in storytelling. Writer and director Christopher Nolan has become a filmmaker whose strength is structure. Whether it is by tinkering with the very format of screen writing, manipulating the audience by withholding key information or exploring a concept that allows for an unconventionally complex execution, Nolan is first and foremost a storyteller. He is a master at well-timed reveals and navigating through the purposeful deception of his writing. Through excruciatingly careful construction, Inception functions to satisfy casual filmgoers and cinephiles' alike.
However, the film has a major flaw; it is populated with almost non-characters who either serve as literal storytelling devices and/or necessary functions towards the plot. Even the core emotional arc of Cobb is a bit flimsy. Inception is so ambitious with Nolan set on his logical ideas and conceptual rules that he seems unable to allow this world to be populated by actual characters for fear they might complicate the story and disrupt his lofty goal. Cobb's (Leonardo DiCaprio) issues and Fischer's (Cillian Murphy) relationship with his father are the sole allowances' for actual characterization. These allowances clearly fill all the status quo Nolan desires. There will be more on this later. This sounds like a major flaw and it is. However, Inception is brilliant at what it is doing as a piece of purely plot-driven and conceptual storytelling. To make me forget I exist outside of the film, to be solely consuming the art in front of me, unaware of time or anything else for two and a half hours (at midnight no less) is a rare feat. It is so self-assured, well thought out and confident at what it has set out to be; relentlessly and aggressively entertaining. Its success almost fully compensates for its lack of characterization as it manages to present us with an all encompassing film going experience that is not often found.
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