Review: Inception

I went into Inception expecting to have my brain hurt from all the twists and turns inventive writer-director Christopher Nolan could throw at the audience (this is the same man who made Memento and Insomnia, remember). What I got was a brilliant masterpiece that is one the most surreal, yet beautiful, films of the year.

Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) practices the art of stealing secrets from people by entering their dreams. He’s one of the best at the game and knows how to manipulate the subconscious and create entire worlds inside his victims’ minds during their lucid state. When he and his “point man” Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are hired to sabotage a powerful businessman (played by Cillian Murphy) by implanting a life-changing idea in his head (a technique known as “inception”) they have to put together a team that can handle the task of going three layers deep into a dream state without ending up brain-dead in limbo.

They recruit the young dream “architect” Ariadne (Ellen Page), the “chemist” Yusuf (Dileep Rao), and the “counterfeiter” Eames (Tom Hardy). They go over the rules and train for the mission until they are all comfortable with what they have to do. The job gets complicated when Saito (Ken Watanabe), the man who hired Cobb and Arthur, requests to join them in the dream. When Cobb’s deceased wife Mal (Marion Cotillard) appears and violently threatens to throw Cobb’s mind into a frenzy the mission becomes even more dangerous than they imagined.

DiCaprio is becoming one of the best actors of this generation and Inception is more proof of this. As with his earlier film this year, Shutter Island, Inception will most likely earn him an Oscar nomination at the end of the year. Gordon-Levitt, Cotillard, and Page also serve their roles well, delivering excellent performances. If nothing more, Inception is a movie for actors and Nolan lets them all run with what they do best.

Although Inception is not the typical summer blockbuster by any means, there are some great effects that made my hair stand on end (such as a scene in which the streets of Paris are being twisted and folded). But this is not a film that relies on effects to wow the audience, it relies on the brain. And if you don’t pay attention you could easily get lost in the world Nolan has crafted and end up confused and disoriented. Follow along and you’ll be blown away by the layers and layers of genius that went into this story.

Inception fits in comfortably with brain-tickling modern classics such as The Matrix and Memento. It is truly a work of art that Nolan will be remembered for for many years to come.

**** out of 5 stars

Rated PG
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Official Site IMDb

brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com

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Top image: A scene from Inception. Courtesy Warner Bros.