The wicked reality of the perfect dream
Inception is a science fiction action heist film which takes the audience into a subconscious world where your inner most-deepest thoughts can be stolen. Not even in sleep are you safe from theft. Throughout Inception we meet many different characters; the main character we follow is Dom Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Cobb is the best at what he does, which is extraction: stealing valuable secrets from the subconscious mind in its most fragile state which is a dream state. Although Cobb and his team are the best it has ultimately cost Cobb everything and now this one job of inception: planting an idea instead of stealing one, could be his one chance to turn his life around. The job is highly dangerous as the team inevitably find out, but if his team succeed, it will be the perfect crime and could also be Cobb’s second chance at happiness.
Christopher Nolan, director of the film, starts off with a key flashback which we later find out is the conclusion to the film. It is a trademark of Nolan to start off the beginning of a film with the ending, putting his auteur quality in the film. To start with there is a lot of guess work to figure out what is happening, are we or are we not in a dream, however the plot unfolds quickly and we are catapulted into the world of the extraction of information from the subconscious mind. The understanding of dying in a dream is that you just wake up where as if you are injured it is an emotional pain and you therefore feel the pain you are in, for example if you are shot in the leg, you feel the pain in the dream. So early on the audience know that one way to wake up from a dream is to die. As the story evolves we are shown into the world of inception, the planting of an idea in the subconscious mind, and the deeper into the dream state you go the more dangers there are, if you die when you are deep in a dream you go into limbo.
The actors and actresses that have been cast in the film feel like they have been made for these roles. Each personality makes the characters come to life and allows the audience to be wooed by the great acting. The characters names, if looked at in great detail, are highly relevant to the film and its purpose. The main name which is relevant is Ariadne, who comes in as the new architect. The name Ariadne was the name of a Greek myth who guides a hero from a maze, and throughout this film is exactly what Ariadne, played by Ellen Page, does for Cobb.
The soundtrack throughout the film is incredible. For action scenes the music is fast and encapsulating. The audience can get lost in the intensity of the action just by listening to the soundtrack, not to mention the amazing effects that have been created. Some of the action scenes have little help from the special effects team, with the actors and actresses creating the scenes in sets that have been specially made to rotate and create the desired affects.
The film itself is a masterpiece; however it takes a few watches to fully appreciate the effort and creative genius that has been used to create the film. The only down side is that if you blink you miss some key information that is crucial, nod off and you don’t have a chance of catching up with the plot. The ending is also another point that you have to ponder, however if you think too long you get frustrated by the question hanging over the final scene, is Cobb still dreaming. You have to enjoy your first reaction and go with a gut feeling of whether or not he is in limbo or in reality.
Overall the film was a thrilling masterpiece. The special effects and acting made the film come to life and took the audience on a fact finding journey. The only real downside is the amount of concentration the whole 145 minutes requires. The level of concentration required is heavy going and it takes a while to really get to grips with what is actually happening, but when that light bulb eventually clicks on you are thrown into a science fiction wonderland of great special effects, soundtrack and brilliant acting.
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