Inception (2010)

Inception
Rating: 4/5

 Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Leonardo DiCaprio star in Christopher Nolan's latest attempt to screw with your mind.

 

The subject of the human mind has become the subject of many great films such as Synecdoche, New York but Inception while quite good isn't quite up to that level. Inception is fairly complicated for a mainstream summer blockbuster but at the same time it feels somewhat dumbed down in order for the average viewer to comprehend. It's not a film that I feel the need to watch several times in order to seek out new meanings or understanding.

For some reason the film is being described as a James Bond heist film mixed with Memento, I suppose this is true in some aspects but the actual goal of the main characters isn't for a heist but the exact opposite. The team's goal is to actually implant an idea within the heir of a large company, Robert Fischer Jr. played by Cillian Murphy. Cobb played by Leonardo DiCaprio leads the group as a mastermind of the mind and takes on the dangerous job for the opportunity to be reunited with his children. The film has the classic elements of a heist movie by rounding up what is the ultimate group. Cobb is already with his longtime associate Arthur, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. As the leader Cobb finds Eames played by Tom Hardy, a forger; Yusuf played by the great Dileep Rao, a chemist; and Ariadne played by Ellen Page; the new architect.

Explaining the details of the plot seem to be rather pointless as much like this year's Shutter Island, it isn't about the ending but the journey that takes you there. I will say this, screw you Christopher Nolan and your closing shot. I felt as though Nolan was flipping me off with the way he finished the film. Thanks a lot. Essentially the movie displays a version of the Schrodinger's cat  theory which was very nicely used in last year's A Serious Man. Unlike the use of it in A Serious Man though, I felt as though Nolan was merely using it as a curveball to mess with audiences and for no other reason besides that. It makes me feel uneasy that Christopher Nolan thinks this is ok to do as a writer. To all those believing they can "solve" the ending, it doesn't matter. In A Serious Man, the main character said "The Uncertainty Principle. It proves we can't ever really know... what's going on. So it shouldn't bother you. Not being able to figure anything out." I believe this is the only way to interpret the ending of the film as one could go back and forth as to what it means but in the end due to the way the film is compiled there's simply  no way to truly know.

I will be up front and say that I had a few problems with the casting of the film. Murphy's character was most obviously written with Christian Bale in mind because he looks exactly like a youthful version of Bale. Apparently James Franco was originally in talks to be Arthur and while Joseph Gordon-Levitt was adequate, Franco seems like he would've fit the character much better. The same goes for Ellen Page's character of Ariadne, while adequate it didn't quite seem perfect to me. The part was originally offered to Evan Rachel Wood who ended up turning it down, it also seems like it would've been a much more favorable casting. On a better note, casting Leonardo DiCaprio as Cobb was fantastic, DiCaprio is a great actor and the role fit him quite well. Marion Coutillard as Mal was also a delight mostly due how truly beautiful she is and how great of an actress she is. I would also like to say I am so glad to see Dileep Rao getting work. Rao sprung up last year in Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell and then in James Cameron's Avatar. He is simply a delight to see on the screen.

Inception is certainly one of the better films of the year. Is Inception a classic though? It's not. It's a fun entertaining movie that makes you think but not particularly hard. I see that by the time I have written this review that Inception is in the Top 100 Films on IMDB at # 83 making it better than Metropolis, Touch of Evil, and Magnolia. While Inception, is certainly not better than these films it is a good movie. The film is very well acted by the great DiCaprio and Coutillard with a relatively good supporting cast.  The cinematography is quite the joy as well being by far some of the best I've seen this year.Christopher Nolan's newest movie has it's flaws but they are mostly forgivable. Inception has not taken the spot of my favorite film of the year like it will for many, Leaves of Grass still steadily holds that spot.