Inception (2010)
Inception (USA) Directed by Christopher Nolan Written by Christopher Nolan Starring Leonardo Di Caprio; Ellen Page; Marion Cotilliard; David Gordon Leavitt; Tom Hardy; Michael Caine; Cillian Murphy: Tom Berenger; Ken Watanabe; Peter Postelwaite; Dileep Rao; Lukas Haas
It is probably not the best sign when a film spends a goodly portion of its run time explaining the cryptic plot through the mouths of its characters. Brit Christopher Nolan has taken a foundation built on lower budget indies (Following; Memento); a medium budget remake of a foreign film (Insomnia); a bigger budget period mystery (The Prestige); and two mega budget comic franchise entries, (Batman Begins; The Dark Knight), and created an intricately plotted psychological thriller/Sci-Fi actioner of monumentous proportion.
While enormous budgets are helpful, and perhaps even essential, in pulling off these modern day filmic extravanzas, there is such a thing as too much, and as much as any film (possibly ever) Inceptionhas too much everything. There is no denying the brilliance of the set design (Guy Hendrix Dias), cinematography (regular Nolan collaborator, DP Wally Pfister), or the skills of a fairly awesome cast, but the film is elongated by at least an 1/2 hour to 45 minutes, and the repetitiveness of the dialogue and myriad action sequences make what should be nothing if not a thrill-a-minute visual hyper-fest lag in too many places.
Nolan is a filmmaker who goes full out, and his sincere commitment to the world he is painting is obvious. Down to the dramatic, overbearing Hans Zimmer score there is no room for irony in this house. The conceptualization of the logistics of what is laid out before us seems likely based on what is known about dreams, the imaginative paths drawn up as we navigate this sinuous roller coaster likely bolstered by a foundation of real, or at least plausible, science. Still, whether the mounting implausibilities that manage to amass on screen are the result of some intentionally less than fully explained real science, an inability by this particular viewer to comprehend all of the details, sloppily thought out and/or delivered plotting from those too deeply immersed in the project to see the light, or a case of a labyrinthian plot run amok (or some combination thereof) is tough to discern. It seems likely, however, that Nolan either wants to compel us to see his work multiple times in order to figure it out, or he’s hoping the events are so convoluted that we’ll all forget about trying and simply enjoy all the vividly compelling images without asking too many questions.
Inception seems like the kind of film that would benefit from a huge budget, and it does, to an extent. The scope is a wide one - principal photography on this 160 million dollar monster (with another 100 mill spent in marketing) took six months in Los Angeles, Calgary, Tangiers, and London. Some of the set pieces and super slow mo scenes are, no doubt, “cool”. But, as was the case with his overpraised Batman films, Nolan’s fascination with his own talent, and seemingly unlimited access to the best technology money can buy, leads to an excess of drawn out action scenes filled with an unyielding supply of inept bad guys who repeatedly prove unable to kill their targets regardless of how many wide open high powered rifle shots or close quarter grappling chances they are presented with.
No matter how enthralling the crisply shot visuals (in 35 and 65mm) might be, many of the full throttle battles and car chases on display are still simply too long, and one particular interminable sequence on snow filled mountains feels more than a little derivative (perhaps the intent is homage?) of so many actioners of the past (think several Bond films, which Nolan is reportedly a fan of). There are undeniable moments of beauty here, especially when Nolan plays with time and camera speed (a van falling; glass shattering), and some of the CGI is excellent as well (cities changing form; buildings imploding), but though Arthur’s (Joseph Gordon Leavitt) no gravity hallway fight might be something to see, its power diminishes greatly as it continues to play out, intercut with other sequences, and stretched to the point of tedium. And despite the claims of innovation, Inception (unlike, say Avatar) doesn’t feel all that different from the The Matrix or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, or some other big budgeters that were on the technological cutting edge upon release.
The bewildering plot, which involves individuals who enter other people’s dreams in order to steal business secrets (and eventually plant information), has been explored in various ways before (Dreamscape (1984);The Matrix (1999), existenZ (1999), etc.), though definitely not with this kind of intricacy. There are times when the cast seems as perplexed as some of the audience though, fighting to get the words of explanation out to narrate what is happening as they go. DiCaprio, as expert dream thief and fugitive Dominic “Dom” Cobb, certainly gives it his actorly all, and Marion Cotilliard as his deceased wife Mallorie “Mal” Cobb, is excellent in places, but for most of the film she is left as stranded as she was in Michael Mann’s Public Enemies. Ellen Page too is fine as architectural student/dream designer Ariadne, though one can, in certain moments, imagine her thinking, “Am I really saying this stuff?” as she spits out some of the cliche-ridden dialogue.
Ultimately, one’s opinion of Inception comes down to an an expectation of what film is supposed to be. For those unabashed Avatar devotees desiring a theater experience involving a high speed jolt with intense, mind bending visuals, who are less concerned with all the dots of the story connecting, this is the latest and greatest in filmmaking. For those in search of a logical tale about relatable human beings, you have come to the wrong place, my friend.