Nolan elaborates, “At the heart of the movie is the notion that an idea is indeed the most resilient and powerful parasite. A trace of it will always be there in your mind…somewhere. The thought that someone could master the ability to invade your dream space, in a very physical sense, and steal an idea—no matter how private—is compelling.” (2010) Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the best in the dangerous art of extraction: stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state when the mind is at its most vulnerable.
Cobb’s rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible—inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse; their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. All while fighting his own battles with his love for his dead wife, and her haunting his dreams and jeopardizing the Inception.
Film as Art:Christopher Nolan was the brilliant mastermind for this masterpiece, as he wrote, directed, and produced Inception. Nolan has been working on the script and how it was going to be shot for 10 years. Making other hit films such as; Batman Begins, The Dark Night, and Memento. Tweaking the film after each movie he directed to perfect how Inception would be viewed on film. Nolan’s marketing approach was unique and edgy leaving you want to know more.
Besides the normal movie posters placed up he hired a marking team. Their whole job was to place “warning signs” on buildings, bus stops, everything else in between. All the sticker would say was “Thought Theft Is Real” or “Protect Your Thoughts”, underneath it would say “Learn About The Truth Of Mind Crime” and had a bar code that new Smartphone’s can read and sends you to a website; www.whatisdreamshare.com.
Film Form:The film form for Inception is a very complex and unique style; jumping from the dream world to reality and from dream within dream within dreams. Leaving you following up to 4 stories lines which the different levels of the dreams and subconscious affect the levels of dreams. Inception follows most conventions as best as a complex psychological thriller can, but has its different conventions to keep true to Nolan’s vision for this movie. For example at the end of the movie Dom finds closure with dealing with his wife and letting go of her in his mind.
Finally reuniting with his kids which is the perfect ending in a traditional film. The camera pans over to his top as its spinning and right before you think it’s going to stop the screen cuts to black. Doing so leaves the viewer uncertain if the whole thing was a dream or if he is truly with his kids and living happily ever after.Narrative as a Formal System:Dom motivated by the fact that he is blamed for his wife’s death and is not allowed in America or he will be arrested for her murder. Separated from his kids and knowing that this job-Inception. One last job could get him home to his kids and have his life back, is his only chance and willing to risk everything to complete the job.
The complexity of this film makes for it difficult to digest the progress through time. In the reality world you get the idea that this is spanning over a few days. But when you enter the dream worlds the time frame changes; 5min dreaming is equal to 1 hour in the dream world due to the mind works faster in the dream world. And gets compounded with every dream within a dream on high sedatives; first dream is equal to one week, the second dream is equal to 6 months, the third dream is equal to 10 years, and the fourth you enter Limbo (a state of which there is no waking).
Mise-en-Scene:Dom and all of his counterparts have a trinket, something that no one else has or knows the weight and feel of. The reason for this is to know if you’re actually in a dream or reality. For if someone else knew the weight or feel of your trinket, they would be able to trick you into thinking you are awake when your dreaming.Cinematography:A great transition to distinguish from what dream world or reality you’re in is the use of the extraction mode scenes. Where it shows the team as their asleep hooked up to this machine which syncs them to the same dream.
By doing this Nolan adds a great deal of depth and complexity to the film.Editing:Inception has some really state of the art film techniques that were blended in with high tech special effects. By doing most scenes captured on film and add in minimal CGI special effects keeps the sense of believability to the film. For example there is a scene where Dom is training the new addition to the team, and explaining the Stairs Paradox. Showing a set of stairs that winds up endless number of levels, with a camera angle change Dom shows that the stairs only go up on full rotation then stops.
Explaining that the stairs are a paradox and that your minds completes the set of stairs. Nolan and the set design team created the set of stairs and had to be 100% correct dimensions and the camera had to be placed in the correct place moving at the right angle and spend to capture the meaning of this scene.Sound:Sound was a crucial aspect of Inception, using it to set the mood and pace of the film. Also sound was tied directly into the dream sequences and was used to let the team dreaming know that they were about to be woken up. By doing this they now know how much time in the dream world they have to complete their mission.
In summary Inception is a psychological heist thriller masterpiece. This movie in its complexity demands the viewer to not want to blink during the film. It almost has the need for repeat viewing for you are left fascinated and blown away by how phenomenal and brilliant this movie truly is.
