Inception

Its been a while since a movie created this sort of anticipation and it has everything to do with Christopher Nolan, who hasn't had a real misstep in his career since he announced his arrival into mainstream movies with the mindfuck of a movie, Memento. Since then there has been Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, and of course The Dark Knight. All of them have been highly accomplished features which fell into the right side of very good movies.

Inception, is another one of Nolan's winners that literally toys with us with its intricate plot structure that is structured like a heist movie while remaining at heart one man's journey to find his way back to the one thing that holds any meaning to his life.

But intricate structuring does not mean that Nolan makes it difficult for us to understand the almost straight forward narrative that is at once intellectually stimulating and yet does not condescend to the lowest common denominator among us - like most mainstream movies tend to do. Until the end everything is kept straight, though am sure the last scene will have its share of debates around it. Does this movie deserve the ambiguity at the end...I would assume so, cause it allows each one of us to carry with us our own interpretation to what actually happened.

The story line follows a group of dream stealers who invade the mind of a target to implant an idea deep into his subconscious. This involves travelling deep into a dream within a dream within a dream and effectively creates a situation wherein it becomes difficult to tell what is real and what is a dream. The plotting is an amazing exercise in playing with layer upon layer upon layer of complexities that are bound together by complex rules. After the exposition is done, the movie is one long sequence that hurtles towards the end as it intercuts between the different levels of dreams the protagonists are trapped in.

Inception features some amazing sequences, but the highlight for me was a gravity defying action setpiece set in a hotel lobby.

Hans Zimmer's music score complements the action on the screen providing the right amount of zest and suspense as the movie speeds towards the climax.

The acting for what its worth is quite good, especially Di Caprio and the always delectable Marion Cotillard. If there is a quibble, it is that the other characters are not suitably developed to provide us with any sense of emotional connect. This may be deliberate, because the central story of Inception is about Cobb's
(Di Caprio) journey at finding a way to atone for past sins and his relationship with Mal (Marion Cotillard). It was also nice to see Joseph-Gordon Levitt in an action role after his essaying of the timid Tom in the anti-romance, 500 Days of Summer.

Inception is another one of those accomplished sci-fi movies that can be grouped alongwith the likes of The Dark City and The Matrix. It also makes me wait to see what Christopher Nolan can come up with next.

Recommended.