"Inception" by Christopher Nolan - movie review

*Only mild SPOILERS ahead*

It is difficult to define and describe the art of film-making. But when it's done right, boy does it hit you in the face like a bag of bricks. I watched a documentary on movie-making once that included many insightful interviews with writers, directors, actors and producers. Though art is subjective, they all seemed to agree on one thing: It's incredibly easy to mess up what could be a good movie and it is rather miraculous when everything comes together to make a movie great. It starts with the written word and then everything else has to fall into place. The director must have the vision to lead all who are involved in the right direction in order to flesh out the story, the actors must be proactive and reactive in their craft; the music, the cinematography, the lighting, the sound, they must all not only be excellent in their own right but also meld together to form a cohesive whole. Well, it is the middle of July, and this is the first amazing movie I have seen so far this year...it may be one of the best movies I have seen in the past couple of years. This is how great movie-making is done, folks (*I'm looking at you, M. Night Shyamalan! Take notes, for pete's sake)  

Just like the multi-levels of subconsciousness that is infiltrated by Cobb (Leo DiCaprio) and his Dream Team (literally), there are different layers of the movie that drive the plot forward. At its heart, the motivation of the main character is his desire to be with his children once again. The reason he is unable to be with them is slowly revealed throughout the movie until we finally see why and how his family became so broken and the ensuing guilt that causes Cobb to unravel at the most inopportune times, much to the lament of his team. Besides that personal stake, the action portion of the movie is driven forward by the fact that, at its base, it is a heist flick. Usually the team goes in to extract ideas straight out of the minds of brilliant men for a high price. Instead of knocking over a bank, hacking into a computer, or outsmarting casino security, Cobb's team invades your dreams and steals ideas from under your nose (er, from under your pillow?).

Consider them brain hackers. But this time, as their last great heist, they aren't going to steal an idea, they are going to plant one. Planting an idea is called an "Inception," thus the movie's moniker. But planting an idea is much harder than stealing one because it has to be done in such a way that the dreamer has to believe the idea was his/hers alone, without suspicion. Lastly, the metaphysical layer of the film comes from the fact that we are dealing with dreams and we all know from our own personal experiences that they are intangible, mysterious, and, well, wacky. With all of our knowledge and technology, the dream state is still far from our grasp and understanding. The worlds we create and destroy in our minds while we sleep is immeasurable and, often times, quickly forgotten as soon as we wake. Much of the movie is spent exploring the "science" behind why and how things occur in our dreams which is inherently interesting because we actually know so little.

Christopher Nolan wrote and directed this film and gathered a top-notch cast to deliver the punch to the gut as well as the feather-light touches with equal prowess. At first, it feels like a reunion of various characters from geeky franchises: Michael Caine (Batman's butler, Alfred), Cillian Murphy (Scarecrow, a Batman villain), Ellen Page (Kitty Pryde from X-Men), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Cobra Commander from G.I. Joe), and Ken Watanabe (fake Ra's Al Ghul from Batman). Borrowing from his Batman cast aside, the acting is excellent, Leonardo DiCaprio being the least impressive of them is saying a lot. The story is compelling and well written, the action scenes (zero-gravity fighting in a hotel hallway, anyone?) are intense, and best of all, the audience is treated like we actually have brain cells and synapses that fire appropriately. Try to go to the bathroom before sitting down for this movie. If you miss one scene you might get lost in the many layers. And if you come back from the bathroom and start asking your friend/significant other what you missed, you will be met with the evil eye so don't bother. But, even if you have to pee, you won't want to leave your seat. The small holes are not even worth mentioning because the overall experience of this film outweighs them. Pay good attention, stay riveted, and you will be rewarded with a big bag of bricks to the face--happily

P.S. Make sure to brush up on your "fob-speak." Ken Watanabe's accent can be a little heavy at times. However, he's such a looker I often didn't care that he was talking :-)       

Words by: Jen Chough