A Cerebral Lullaby (Inception Review)

The fact that I was smiling all throughout the two-hour plus sci-fi actioner “Inception” must be good feedback from my subconscious. Subconscious, I say because once I consciously analyze the movie, it seems all too hazy and exhausting. I needed to peel that extra layer of consciousness as I pay solid attention in grasping the movie’s secrets. The one thing I do consciously remember while watching the first 45 minutes was “How the hell did Nolan sell this to Warner Brothers?” Where do I begin? This seems like a cliché but it is ultimately the question of anyone who even starts to talk about the film. Losing edginess has been a primal fear of mine but in this case I have to use a typical outline in attempting to criticize the film. The plot revolves on a very simple premise with a superfluity of entanglements. It is basically about a skilled thief trying to do a job for someone in order for him to get something very important in return. This is all you need to know although this kind of movie is really hard to spoil because its secrets are intelligently well-guarded. This means if somebody spoils the movie, he or she should at least construct a well-written and edited paragraph to spoil you mad-crazy. It’s not like the-policeman-was-actually-the-killer kind of twists. I must admit that there are certain scenes that are almost hard to follow but this was done to up the ante. Nolan does not allow his audience the liberty of enjoying a 30-minute action sequences without donning a thinking cap on. Brutal much? Mentally laborious. But why do I love it so much?

Archetypal but strangely unique, the characters are fully fleshed out. If you followed the movie’s marketing, you will see some familiar elements in the movie that were in the promotion. This film exhibits the typical safe typecasting which I think is a good thing. Leonardo Di Caprio plays Cobb, the “Extractor” or if euphemisms reduced, the “Thief” in the team. Di Caprio has been known to play very acid-tripy roles as subversion to his boy-next-door, Titanic-hunk aura. He is one of the very few defining actors of our generation. And then he nailed it again in this film. Juno’s Ellen Page shows versatility to her acting prowess as she plays Ariadne, the so-called “Architect” in this film. Another coming-of-age actor of the next generation impresses with fine acting and raw emotions, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the very important “Point man” in the bunch. His previous movies “The Lookout” and “500 Days of Summer” had positively honed his skills in acting. Alas, a comic relief in action, Tom Hardy plays the “Forger” who I thought was really entertaining. Missing in Nolan’s other works; this character is really a breath of freshness. Other casts include Cillian Murphy as the “Mark,” Marion Cottilard as the intriguing “Shade” and Ken Watanabe as the “Tourist.” As far as acting goes the cast is mad: mad enough to even believe this alternate reality.

“Your mind is the scene of the crime,” echoes the tag-line. Indeed, it is, as vital scenes take place in the world of dreams and the setting and time goes along with it. In Nolan’s dream world, limitations do not exist and time moves slightly different as well. As in any science fiction film, terminologies and gizmos are presented in the film and they are just awesome. In fact, they play a very pivotal role in understanding the totality of the film.

In a cinematic world filled with CGI trickery, “Inception” succeeds in being organic and affluent in ideas and concepts. When you see a marvelous image in the film, you are given an even more marvelous concept that aids you in imagining beyond what you see with your eyes. Spectacular computer-generated effects take the back seat as philosophies on dreams, ideas, and memories take control. If I am lucky enough someday, I will handshake Nolan for tossing the extra 40 from the 200 million dollar initial budget to the studio. In that brave act I believe he was saying “Why waste 200 when I can pull it off in 160 million dollars?” Again he brings the focus on the story not the "theatricks" of movie-making.

The film might be focused on dreams but as an audience, we are required to be awake to keep focused. It is easy to get lost and quit in appreciating in movies like this but I tell you do not grow tire of it. Unlike film-director surrealists, his movies are always designed to be “crackable.” Perhaps, this is the single most incredible element I have discovered in Nolan’s films. There is a certain marriage of vagueness and veracity in his works. Compare it to a Rubik’s cube, difficult but with a certain guideline or outline of procedures, you may be able to crack it. So if you don’t understand the film in one or a few viewings, don’t think you are stupid. The film is designed to be viewed multiple times in the first place.

In a film that focuses heavily on ideas, dreams, literature, and architecture, I would like to quote a sentence from literary genius Oscar Wilde's masterpiece “Dorian Gray”: Genius lasts longer than beauty. I believe that Inception's ingenuity will be more perpetual than its aesthetics. Now my last concern is: with this kind of highly-complex plot, where does Nolan dare to dream next?


By Kenneth Marc B. Gimpayan