Inception
Inception
Director: Christopher Nolan
*****
Not since The Matrix have I left a movie theatre, mind reeling, questioning the world around me. I had huge expectations for Inception and they were more than fulfilled, it’s not often a big budget blockbuster lives up to the hype.
In what is easily the best movie of the year, Leonardo DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, leader of a team of highly skilled “extractors” who break into business men’s minds to steal secrets and commit corporate espionage.
Wanted in his home country of America, but desperate to return to his children, Cobb takes up the offer of a successful Japanese business man (played by Ken Wanatabe) who seeks, not to remove, but to plant, an idea in the mid of a young businessman.
The team embarks on a multi-tiered invasion of the mind, hijacking three different dream sequences simultaneously to incept an idea. With action happening in multiple locations the timeline ought to be confusing, but it’s interwoven exceptionally well to keep us in a constant state of enthrallment.
The supporting cast are collectively outstanding. Ellen Page, of Juno fame, plays Cobb’s discerning young apprentice and “architect” of the dream world. Former child star Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Cobb’s right hand man (and gives Keanu Reeves a run for his money in the fight sequence stakes.)
Marion Cotillard’s performance is captivating as Mal, Cobb’s angry, deranged wife who chases him in and out of reality. Her passionate and intense performance carries DiCaprio’s, which in comparison, is just a tad underwhelming.
Director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) creates a plot line which is layered and complex, yet for the most part the audience manages to keep up to speed. We are left wondering, was it an action flick, a drama or a physiological thriller? Inception manages to cross genres and captivate a wide audience, simultaneously tugging at the heart strings while providing incredibly fast paced action, fights, romance and even a touch of humour.
Every person who has ever dreamed will be spellbound by this gross intrusion and manipulation of a person’s mind, hopes, dreams and memories.