Inception has saved the summer. No matter what happens the rest of the summer, with each film release from now until Labor Day, rest assured as moviegoers because one breathtakingly brilliant film has reached our cinemas. Some years are not treated to a film as good as Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece, a film wound so intricately tight with concept and clever originality that it will make you forget you are even watching a movie. Just when you think it cannot get any better or take your brain on another trip, Inception continues to take you somewhere new and original. This movie is truly a dream in the dark come true.
The film has so many layers, some subtle, all complex, that when you finally reach its end, you want to start unraveling the mystery all over again. It is impossible to understand the movie entirely with just one viewing, and I praise that. After all, how many films released in recent memory, even the last decade, warrant that sort of statement? It is complicated without being too smart for its own good; an understanding and basic grasp of the film and its concept is reached. It is not too smart for audiences, but, instead, exactly the type of film audiences need: a thought provoking, entertaining, and engaging film.
To reveal any sort of spoiler would be unfair, and to be quite honest, might further create confusion. It is a mystery that is best left unknown, but a basic premise explanation can suffice if you are looking to learn more about the movie. At its base, the film deals with the manipulation of the brain. Thieves can enter dreams of their marks, stealing their ideas or imprinting their subconscious with fresh ideas; ideas that will then influence their reality, a process known as “inception.” Leonardo DiCaprioleads a rock solid cast as the leader of a team of expert brain hackers. The support includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, and Michael Caine. It is best to leave the plot at its most basic, and you can find out the rest on your own. After all, the unknown is often the greatest aspect of experiencing a movie for the first time.
One of my goals with looking at these summer films is to find an amount of substance to them, ranging from basic social commentary, to metaphor for daily life, or even films that offer thinking that is more complex. That may be a great deal to ask of the average movie, and to expect this on every film-going occasion is simply unreasonable, but thankfully, a film has delivered, and this is that film. There is plenty of commentary and metaphor, and one focus it largely deals with is examining the ins and outs of corporations. Whether it is corporate greed, striving for monopoly, or just getting a leg up on the competition, it is all there. With new technology comes new ability, and those who see an opportunity to profit, or gain power and control from the new technology, will not waver in the face of a chance. They will seize it, and Nolan’s film examines the extreme lengths and depths people will go for such power.
Inception also has a heart. It stresses the importance of the most basic human needs and desires: love, emotion, and family, just to name a few. It explores the difficulty people can face with life changing decisions. If nothing else, the film serves as a demonstration of just how hard and complex life can be. Life, much like the human brain these infiltrators want to invade, is an intricate maze we are all trying to solve collectively. This film is a mind-blowing journey, and I suggest you take it as soon as you can.
The most obvious aspect of social relevance this film has, is its examination of thinking and the way the mind works. Because so much of the plot revolves around the brain, the film functions as a study of how we think, how the brain works, and more centrally related to the film’s plot, how we dream. Inception relates to our thoughts, how they enter our dreams and our day to day experiences, how thoughts function almost as invaders in our dreams or experiences; constantly playing a role in decision making. The film is a large-scale case study of the subconscious and its ability to permeate our thinking in all aspects; blurring the distinction between what is real and what is not.
There is simply so much involved with this film, and that may be why it gives me so much hope. I am sure that I am not the only one who has reached summer movie fatigue, looking at the local listings only to conclude, “There really isn’t anything to see.” Going to the movies recently, this summer, has been painstaking. Summer movies have been, for the most part, an exercise in the one-upmanship in stupidity, with filmmakers collectively serving the people with weekly practical jokes in the guise of quality films. However, sarcasm can be put to rest this week because, thankfully, now there is something to see.
I beg people to see Inception if only because if it fails at the box office, we may not see a smart movie in the summer ever again. I beg you to work parts of your brain other films have left dusty. This isn’t the film we need every week, but it is certainly a type of film that we need on a more consistent basis.
If your brain needs some exercise, this is a film for you. Inception is one of the most complete films I have seen in ages; it features excellent acting performances, great writing, and pitch-perfect directing. It is a visual spectacle and a tremendous movie that solidifies Christopher Nolan as one of the best filmmakers of this generation. Nolan clearly has his influences, from James Bondto Neo and The Matrix, yet despite such influence, Inception is still clearly his own and clearly one of the originals. Forget the notion of the summer movie. This is the movie to see now, the movie to see this year. It would be easy to see Inception as a film that supersedes time and stands as one of the great ones for years to come.
Reprinted from Conducive Chronicle
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