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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Inception

Inception is a masterfully crafted film. That much can't be denied. Every technical aspect of the movie is spot on, the acting is engrossing and visually it looks like...well, a dream. On the surface, it seems difficult, if not impossible, to find fault with Christopher Nolan's latest, but if you try to dig a little deeper, you might find yourself hitting bottom sooner than expected. Despite sporting such a high, cleverly constructed concept, Inception turns out to be a shockingly straightforward affair, barely scratching the surface of an incredibly compelling idea.

Once you understand the overarching concept of dream manipulation and dreams within dreams, which is made abundantly clear by the avalanche of expository dialogue in the first third of the movie, Inception careens through a fairly simple, though boldly original, plot. Nolan is so meticulous about explaining his world that in the last half of the movie, we already know everything there is to know; the only thing left is to watch our heroes get from point A to point B. There are no kinks, no hidden secrets (save for Cobb's (Leonardo DiCaprio) personal issues, which are either known to the audience for most of the movie or turn out to be fairly predictable) and no surprising turns. Granted, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but in Inception, it's hard not to feel a little let down that there wasn't any more to Nolan's maze-like dreamworld than what was essentially lectured to us, in oftentimes redundant fashion, in the early going.

Every member of this ensemble cast turns in a fantastic performance, which makes it a shame that so few of the characters ever achieve relevance to the story. We become intimately involved in Cobb's personal battles with guilt, his memories embodied in the specter of his deceased wife, Mal (played exceptionally well by Marion Cotillard), but we quickly find that there is not much to know about any of Cobb's teammates. It feels like everyone is just along for the ride, and we never get insight into anyone's motives, desires, tendencies or anything remotely compelling. After a while, it gets a little boring to watch so many characters that have been reduced to either plot points or set pieces. Walking out of the movie, I found it difficult or impossible to remember half the characters' names I had just spent nearly three hours watching, which for me is usually a good indicator of how much I was invested in those characters.

The focal point of Inception is, of course, Cobb: his struggle to return home, and his struggle to overcome the guilt he feels about the loss of his wife. Cobb is the only character in the film who has any sort of development, yet it is a choppy and uneven development. Straying from the artful way he slowly and gradually transformed a frightened, directionless Bruce Wayne into the brooding, determined Batman in Batman Begins, Nolan presents Cobb's development in snapshots: here we see Cobb defiantly resisting pressure to face his guilt; here we see Cobb forced to trust an outsider with his secrets; here we see Cobb facing down his guilt and finally conquering it. Each emotionally charged scene featuring DiCaprio is well acted, and well executed, but none of them are woven together. It's a step-by-step approach to character progression, and that makes for some unconvincing drama at critical times in the movie.

It's worth mentioning again that really, despite all the issues I have listed, Inception is a superbly crafted piece of art. Rare are the times we see such a fresh and daring concept put together so confidently and intelligently. If Christopher Nolan did indeed spend the better part of a decade working on this screenplay, the dedication shows. He also deserves credit for serving up an ending that will no doubt be debated for years to come, carefully laying breadcrumb trails of evidence for both sides of the fence to follow, rewarding repeat viewings. The entire cast turns in spirited performances, and Hans Zimmer's score perfectly induces just the right feelings of tension, relief and catharsis at just the right times. We are treated to a radically imaginative world, but ultimately not a whole lot of dramatic tension to populate it. Any chance Inception had at being thought-provoking was snuffed out by the glut of weighty, technical explanations that made dreams make a little too much sense. At times, I'll admit I felt guilty about feeling bored in the midst of such a dazzling display of artistry, but I could never find myself emotionally invested in the people on screen, and a telegraphed and predictable plot didn't help matters, either. Inception is good enough as it is, but as the forger...what was his name again...Eames says, “You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.”