Sci-Fi: Inception
Inception
Year: 2010
Score: 9.8
Bottom Line: Share with the world in the pursuit of world peace!
Normally, even with the cut, I try to keep my reviews spoiler free. But there's really no way to talk about this movie without spoilers.
I sat around yesterday trying to figure Inception out, trying to write some sort of coherent review, trying to make sense of something that appeared not only to be a conondrum, but an intentional labrynth.
But it's a Chris Nolan movie, so I wasn't surprised. Having made sense of it, I think Inception is an incredibly smart, elegant film.
Brilliantly and artfully written.
So well directed you don't think about it or notice.
Exceptional performances from very good actors (I was surprised by Joseph Gordon-Levitt who I think is fairly talented but I generally dislike on principle).
A fascinating, original story that of course is very smart and kinda twisted because it's Chris Nolan.
Generally well formed and definitely interesting characters.
and yet flawed.
Because for all it's brilliance and intellect I wasn't emotionally involved at all. I didn't experience Cobb and Mal's love enough to be on their side, to fall in love with them, to believe in their love or that it was powerful enough to haunt his subconcious like that. I didn't feel much of anything; not anxiety when they might fall into limbo, not fasciantion as the depth of Cobb's character and history was revealed, not sympathy for him, not his guilt for Mal's madness, nor why Cobb would so willingly open up to Adriadne when he's kept himself hidden from Arthur for however long. I saw it all, but I didn't feel it.
And a little predictable. I mean, layered and complicated, but I still consistently realized everything at some point before it was revealed.
Aside from the cinematic technicalities, however, Inception is a story that is begging to be unraveled and questioned. Because the one thing I did feel at the very end was disturbed.
Cobb was given his happy ending, everyone woke up safe and alive and fulfilled. Even Fisher was given an incredible gift of reconcilliation with his father and peace. and that spinning top seemed to take all of that away by implying that Cobb was still in a dream. But I don't think it did at all. I think it was actually a powerful, almost creative force and not a destructive one.
Rule #1 the top spins and when if falls down you're in reality. If it keeps spinning you're in a dream.
The film has carefully explained every rule about dreams so when the top keeps spinning at the end, the questions begin.
Is Cobb still in a dream? Did he simply never wake up from limbo at the end? So, what happened to everyone else? Did they wake up? Do we get any closure for their stories? Or did we ever see Cobb in reality? Then, how could the top have fallen down all those times before if that was a dream also? But could Mal have been right in limbo when she questions what we thought to be reality before? When she said the multinational corporations were chasing him like projections? If so, who has thrown him into this dream? What do they want from him? Was Adriadne, then, an extractor and not an architect since she continually drew information out of him? Or what do they want to make him believe? Was this the biggest Mr. Charles ever, with those we believed to be his friends actually leading him through this; getting him to run from his own subconcious? To what end? And, then, whose dream is it?
Because no matter how many layers of dreams you think there are in this film, I think there's always one more. It's Chris Nolan's dream.
The final spinning top in the end isn't about Cobb still being in a dream within the story, it's telling us that the dream he's still within is the film itself. That Inception is a shared dream we've entered into with Chris Nolan and wake from but never, within the film-dream, touch on reality.
and the rules of film (not just this film but film as a medium) are the same as the rules of the dream
The one exception being that when we're dreaming we're creating our world while we simultaneously experience it. That's very interesting about dreams, but wholly untrue about films. Still....
Time flows differently.
You don't know how you to got there because movies always begin in the middle of something.
Paradox can exist, can be manipulated within both
It's only when you wake up that you notice anything was strange
It's a very cool idea and makes the film that much smarter and more elegant and interesting.
But you can't accept the story as a metaphor for film without also hearing the warning within it. That if you artificailly dream too often you lose your ability to actually dream.
And it has to be a remarkably good film because even knowing all of this, even not really fealing anythig, it's still a fun and fascinating movie.
Year: 2010
Score: 9.8
Bottom Line: Share with the world in the pursuit of world peace!
Normally, even with the cut, I try to keep my reviews spoiler free. But there's really no way to talk about this movie without spoilers.
I sat around yesterday trying to figure Inception out, trying to write some sort of coherent review, trying to make sense of something that appeared not only to be a conondrum, but an intentional labrynth.
But it's a Chris Nolan movie, so I wasn't surprised. Having made sense of it, I think Inception is an incredibly smart, elegant film.
Brilliantly and artfully written.
So well directed you don't think about it or notice.
Exceptional performances from very good actors (I was surprised by Joseph Gordon-Levitt who I think is fairly talented but I generally dislike on principle).
A fascinating, original story that of course is very smart and kinda twisted because it's Chris Nolan.
Generally well formed and definitely interesting characters.
and yet flawed.
Because for all it's brilliance and intellect I wasn't emotionally involved at all. I didn't experience Cobb and Mal's love enough to be on their side, to fall in love with them, to believe in their love or that it was powerful enough to haunt his subconcious like that. I didn't feel much of anything; not anxiety when they might fall into limbo, not fasciantion as the depth of Cobb's character and history was revealed, not sympathy for him, not his guilt for Mal's madness, nor why Cobb would so willingly open up to Adriadne when he's kept himself hidden from Arthur for however long. I saw it all, but I didn't feel it.
And a little predictable. I mean, layered and complicated, but I still consistently realized everything at some point before it was revealed.
Aside from the cinematic technicalities, however, Inception is a story that is begging to be unraveled and questioned. Because the one thing I did feel at the very end was disturbed.
Cobb was given his happy ending, everyone woke up safe and alive and fulfilled. Even Fisher was given an incredible gift of reconcilliation with his father and peace. and that spinning top seemed to take all of that away by implying that Cobb was still in a dream. But I don't think it did at all. I think it was actually a powerful, almost creative force and not a destructive one.
Rule #1 the top spins and when if falls down you're in reality. If it keeps spinning you're in a dream.
The film has carefully explained every rule about dreams so when the top keeps spinning at the end, the questions begin.
Is Cobb still in a dream? Did he simply never wake up from limbo at the end? So, what happened to everyone else? Did they wake up? Do we get any closure for their stories? Or did we ever see Cobb in reality? Then, how could the top have fallen down all those times before if that was a dream also? But could Mal have been right in limbo when she questions what we thought to be reality before? When she said the multinational corporations were chasing him like projections? If so, who has thrown him into this dream? What do they want from him? Was Adriadne, then, an extractor and not an architect since she continually drew information out of him? Or what do they want to make him believe? Was this the biggest Mr. Charles ever, with those we believed to be his friends actually leading him through this; getting him to run from his own subconcious? To what end? And, then, whose dream is it?
Because no matter how many layers of dreams you think there are in this film, I think there's always one more. It's Chris Nolan's dream.
The final spinning top in the end isn't about Cobb still being in a dream within the story, it's telling us that the dream he's still within is the film itself. That Inception is a shared dream we've entered into with Chris Nolan and wake from but never, within the film-dream, touch on reality.
and the rules of film (not just this film but film as a medium) are the same as the rules of the dream
The one exception being that when we're dreaming we're creating our world while we simultaneously experience it. That's very interesting about dreams, but wholly untrue about films. Still....
Time flows differently.
You don't know how you to got there because movies always begin in the middle of something.
Paradox can exist, can be manipulated within both
It's only when you wake up that you notice anything was strange
It's a very cool idea and makes the film that much smarter and more elegant and interesting.
But you can't accept the story as a metaphor for film without also hearing the warning within it. That if you artificailly dream too often you lose your ability to actually dream.
And it has to be a remarkably good film because even knowing all of this, even not really fealing anythig, it's still a fun and fascinating movie.