In Hollywood today, there are few directors who cause such anticipation for a film than brit director Christopher Nolan. This anticipation is apt due to Nolan being one of the few directors who are able to gather a vast audience, but also deliver quality films which are loved by critics.
If one were to track back in time to just over a decade, Nolan was just a young and eager filmmaker, filming his friends on weekends for over a year for what would turn into 1998’s Following. Despite almost zero budget managed to weave an intelligent story. In 2000, yet another masterful story building on Following’s fractured narrative to create an excellent neo-noir detective story which can be consider a cult classic as well as one of the smartest and greatest films of all time, Memento, starring Guy Pearce at the top of his form. In 2002, he boldly remade the 1997 swedish film Insomnia. Whilst being his most mainstream film, still masterfully remade a great story to great effect, garnering two great (and last so far) from Al Pacino and a serious Robin Williams.
In 2005, after convincing Warner Bros he was perfect for the job, Nolan resurected Batman from the horrifyingly camp-neon lit-bat-nipple hell that was Joel Shumacher’s god awful entries, bring him not only back to reality, but back to his origins ala Richard Donner’s Superman, with strong all-star cast and fantastic scope returning the Batman’s dignity in the solidly epic Batman Begins. In 2006, now with added box office appeal, Nolan brought us into the world of two rival early 20th century magicians to create the utterly compelling and mystifying The Prestige, a film that lingered long after leaving the theatre, as well as gaining excellent performances from its stars Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Michael Caine. In 2008, no one could have expected the impact of his Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight, whos expectations were sky high, due to the success of the first film as well as the reinvisioning of the fan favourite Batman villian, The Joker. What transpired was the highest earning film of all time (until Avatar), which almost completely crushed the first film in terms of scope and quality, creating the first epic crime drama in years, not to mention begin the legend that is the late and great Heath Ledger’s amazing Oscar-Winning performance as The Joker.
So now, in 2010, after almost 10 years in development, comes Christopher Nolan’s latest, Inception, the first film since Following to be based of his own material and one of the most anticipated films of this year. What is amazing about this film was the promotion. The detailed of what the actual film was about was not reveal until mere months ago, therefore all the public had to grasp onto were a series of cryptic (EPIC) trailers, which revealed Leonardo DiCaprio spinning tops, rotating hallways, folding cities, slow-motion Kubrickan shots all accompanied by Hans Zimmers sound - BRRRRRRRRMMMM! All Nolan would state to describe the film as a sci-fi action thriller “set within the architecture of the mind.”
Up until months ago, i had little clue what i was watching, a Matrix-esq movie with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an unhinged villian? Turns out i was way off, but, the feeling i constantly felt from the very conception of Inception was a great quality, and this was a feeling held by most people of the world. Is it due to him directing The Dark Knight? or his other great films? Maybe? Or did this film from day one just managed to hack into our very subconciousness. Who knows. But now that it’s out there, it’s there to stay.
To plot the film, without spoiling the film, follows Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), a man who is paid to enter dreams with his team to extract peoples inner-most secrets. Soon former target Saito (Ken Wanatabe) hires Cobb and his team to enter the mind of the son of business rival (Cillian Murphy) to not extract, but to plant an idea, which is called Inception.
The mere idea of the film is genius and intelligent, one that detractors may compare superficially to ripping off The Matrix and Dark City, but to look closer, one can see that the film refreshingly approaches the idea of dreams to a detailed and creative effect. What is great is that most of these ideas are inspired off common knowledge and experiences of any dreaming human being, therefore makes it highly relatable. The film is not all idea, but infact is very much a mix of an Oceans 11 heist film, the trippiness of the Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, and classic James Bond films.
Nolan crafts this film with absolute professionalism, and continues to show improvement off his already great directorial status. The script is tight and diverse in tastes and ideas. It appeals to the intellectual, with the science of Cobbs work, it appeals to action fans, with plenty explosions, subconcious gun battles and zero gravity fist fights and people who enjoy drama, with Cobb’s tragic inner battle with his lost wife.
Nolan again proves he is one of the smartest directors in the department of casting, essembling a dream team of actors creating in my opinion one of the most desirable and best acting essembles in quite awhile. Leonardo DiCaprio is the centrepiece of this cast as Cobb, and give a deep and powerful performance, completely crushing his recent work somewhat similar role in the disappointing Shutter Island. He leads with conviction and entering his world is satisfying, and he gives the role the best dramatic chops it deserved.
DiCaprio would not have been as good without his co-stars supporting him, strongly holding the film’s quality. While some of these characters are given next to no background, it somehow does not effect the quality of the portrayal, which is a remarkable thing
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is slick, in-control and ever watchable as Cobb’s right hand man Arthur. He shows that he is one of the most versitile and likeable actors today, with the ability to shift between big-budget films like this and lighter independent films such as last years brilliant 500 Days of Summer. Also in the mix is Ellen Page, easily holding her own in the company of men showing she is more than just a hipster teen displaying some strong acting chops as Ariadne, the young bright student hired as the teams key dream architect.
Tom Hardy paves the way to noteriety before stepping into Mad Max as dream forger Eames, who is a suave action man with excellent british wit, making a strong addition to the team. Ken Wanatabe is given a larger role as ultra serious Saito, whos journey in the film is very enjoyable. The underrated Cillian Murphy shines as the son of the business mogul, again showing how strong an actor he is and Marion Cotillard as Cobb dream meddling dead wife Mal is an excellent, heartfelt and at many points creepy and disturbing performance and helps create some of the most dramatically strong scenes in the film with DiCaprio.
Even the sprinkling of familiar good actors, such as Tom Berenger, Dileep Rao, Lukas Haas, Pete Postlethwaite and a nice cameo from Michael Caine are just icing on a great cast.
The film is gorgeously shot by Wally Pfister, frequent Nolan collaborator and gives Nolan’s dreamscape excellent scope. Speaking of scope, the wide use of locations, from Tokyo, Paris and snow covered mountains is truly remarkable. Hans Zimmer returns to creative form here, spanding out from his usual blockbuster fare to create, with the help of guitar legend and former The Smiths member Johnny Marr, a layered, emotive and epically charged soundtrack, with added help from Edith Piaf’s “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien” as an excellent plotpoint.
The effects of the film are marvelous, seamlessly blending live-action and limited CGI to great effect, such as the breathtaking folding city. One of the great aspects about Nolan is his love of practical stunts, and there are plenty, including the fantastic Bond-esc ski chase. The zero gravity/rotating sequences are insanely thrilling, ones that are true of dreams.
In the end, Inception is truly a masterpiece of science fiction, one which is unique and compelling to the very final and ambigious end. Its an emotional rollercoaster and an action ride. It gives so many levels of entertainment you will want to see it again and again. It is also proof that yet again, that Christopher Nolan is one of the finest filmmakers in the modern age, and this film goes to show the amazing mind which he has.
5/5
