As a one-time aspiring screenwriter who routinely delved into the cinematic world of "what if" high-concept storytelling, I've always loved every aspect of the mind's ability to dream. After all, in that subconscious state, anything can happen and everything seems so real that you often have to reassure yourself upon waking that what you experienced was, in fact, just a dream. Heck, even my cats have their own and it's fascinating that my voice can cause a physical reaction in their sleeping bodies (the command, "Get the bug!" apparently introduces insect-based prey into their feline dream state).
I'm also envious -- although I'm still not certain I fully buy into such claims -- of people who state they can consciously control their dreams while in them. If it's true, think how amazing it would be to construct the scenario and then interact with the characters who you'd place into that or would just show up on their own. You'd be your own movie director inside your head without having to deal with studio pressures, shooting deadlines or $100 million plus production budgets.
If you can imagine that, the notion of controlling others' dreams, some subconscious corporate espionage, all sorts of psychology archetypes, and scenes inspired by other sci-fi and action flicks, you might just come up with "Inception." Arguably the best film of the summer and most likely all year, the latest film from writer/director Christopher Nolan is a heady trip that comes off as a thinking person's action flick. Simply put, it works on a variety of complimentary levels and probably needs and deserves to be seen more than once to fully grasp and absorb everything the filmmaker throws your way.
Now, for those touting the film's amazing originality, methinks they've either simply been bereft of that in a year filled with remakes, adaptations, franchise rebooting and such and thus are desperate for anything different than the norm, or perhaps they have forgotten any number of previous movies that have covered similar grounds.
"The Matrix" and its "what is reality" themes and storyline will obviously come to most viewers' minds, while the likes of "Total Recall," "Dreamscape" and others of their ilk have similarly mined the sci-fi world regarding dreams, memories and the like. Throw in the intricate planning and teamwork of "Mission: Impossible" and perhaps too many instances of James Bond-esque action on skis, and there's no shortage of source material from which Nolan is obviously able to tap. It's possible he's constructed the film like a dream where such bits and pieces are snatched from one's memory and assembled onto the screen, but perhaps that's reading too much into the underlying thematic intent.
What the talented filmmaker (who also helmed "The Dark Knight," "The Prestige," "Insomnia" and "Memento" -- not a bad track record if I do say so myself) has done, however, is arrange all of that, throw in some new twists and original material, and turn it into something of his own.
The basic underlying plot Nolan has constructed is deceptively simple. In the world of high-stakes corporate espionage, a small group of people have become "extractors" who enter others' dreams in order to steal coveted information from their subconscious.
Upon hearing that and seeing the ads filled with wild-looking action, I figured this to be a heist flick of sorts where the plan would go wrong and they'd have to get out of the subject's mind before something bad would happen. All of that's present, but the twist is that rather than steal the information, they're hired to plant a notion into the target's mind and thus affect his waking behavior.
While that sounds intriguing, it gets better when Nolan introduces the team's plan to use dreams within dreams (and then some) to throw off their mark's suspicions and try to deal with his mind conjuring up heavily armed, dream-state men and other defensive elements to protect him from the intruders. Throw in another figure (Marion Cotillard in an emotionally devastating but also fairly unnerving role) who stems from Cobb's guilt-ridden psyche and unexpectedly shows up to mess with him, and the fact that what happens in the physical world of a dreamer affects the reality of the dream beneath and so on down through the levels, and the film ends up being a fairly thrilling ride.
From an action standpoint, the film works quite well, even if a number of scenes involving snowy ski battles and such do get a bit repetitive with each occurrence (and makes one wonder if Nolan wanted to helm a James Bond flick). The best, however, are when the filmmaker has Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who's become one of my favorite actors) engaged in fight scenes where the hallways, rooms and such are spinning about him and his adversaries. It's obviously inspired by Fred Astaire's wall and ceiling dance sequence in "Royal Wedding," and the fact that it was shot the same way (with a revolving set rather than computer-generated effects) makes those scenes all the more impressive to behold.
Editor Lee Smith perfectly juggles everything Nolan throws his way (and it's a lot) without resorting to ADD/MTV type rapid cutting and should see an Oscar nomination coming his way. Such potential accolades should also hold true for Wally Pfister (cinematography), Guy Hendrix Dyas (production design), Chris Corbould (visual effects), Hans Zimmer (score), the sound effects team and, of course, Nolan for writing, directing and Best Picture.
On the performance side, I'd guess Cotillard might also get a nod for her work, which could also hold true for DiCaprio who has the meatiest role (even if it's similar to what he played in "Shutter Island" earlier this year). Others, including Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe and Cillian Murphy are good and deliver what's required of them (Hardy and Gordon-Levitt being the most fun), but their parts aren't terribly fleshed out. That's not a troubling issue, but such extra depth could have made the film even a bit better than it already is.
Although it might not emotionally engage in every moment of its 150-some minute run-time, "Inception" will certainly have your brain working full time, be that simply enjoying the sci-fi angled "Mission: Impossible" type plotting and action or going deeper into the psychological and philosophical elements that permeate the offering. Simply put, it's a smart film that works on multiple levels and proves that action-filled summer blockbusters don't need to be dumbed-down in order to entertain the masses. The film rates as an 8 out of 10.
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