Hot Tip: Typically When One Dreams Of Water, It Usually Means Change Or The Urge To UrinateAmbition powers great artists. However, ambition doesn’t always make for great art. There are usually a lot of moving pieces in a final work and a lot of reasons why that final work came to be. Christopher Nolan’s Inception is definitely an example as to why a lot of moving pieces don’t always bear the fruit of the greatest art, but usually makes for better ideas for the medium. There are so many great aspects of Inception that I’m sure hundreds of reviews [including this one] will miss many of the finer details. Some of these details are marred by questionable pacing and character detachment. This may be one of the best movies of the summer, but that really isn’t saying much. With flaws, Inception is definitely a technical achievement in movie-making. I have to recommend it just based on how ambitious it is.
Cobb & Arthur -- Dreamhunters.The plot takes the good found in Momento and Paprika [two other heralded, but flawed movies] and manages to simplify complex philosophy. Having this acting generation’s equivalent of the Rat Pack doesn’t hurt when conveying such a layered script to a PG-13 audience. The problems lie when Nolan works his magic as a writer and takes for granted the intelligence of his audience. The first hour of the movie functions as a logical assemblage of the cast and an incredibly expository explanation of what will eventually occur in the later acts of the film. With so many technical chances taken in Inception, it would have been nice to see Nolan take more of a chance on this very capable cast. Having someone explain the complexities of dreams is great, but when a clear example unfolds in the next scene it almost ‘undoes’ the mystery before you [the viewer] discovers what the mystery is.
Nolan Uses A Lot Of Wide Static Shots. Showing Characters Dwarfed By Their Environment.In these little reviews I write, I make a big deal about the importance of music and soundscapes in movies. If you are reading this then you probably know how important a score is and further, you appreciated Nolan’s last auditory masterpiece in the Dark Knight. Don’t expect that with Inception. It should be noted, that there are only a handful of scenes in this recent effort that are completely silent -- and oddly enough, they are the most powerful scenes. Without giving anything away, there is a scene where Ariadne [Ellen Page] invades a dream of Cobb’s [Leonardo DiCaprio] in complete silence -- only for her to break the tension by stepping on an errant wine glass. Words don’t do these scenes justice, but given the many orchestral filled action and expository sequences, neither does filling the audiences ears with booming sonics for over two hours.
In One Of The More Interesting Scene Setups, Cobb Helps An Extra Find His Contact.I mentioned that there was character detachment. This varied seeing as the ensemble cast was already busy enough travelling through dreams and trying to uncover treasures and secrets of the subconscious. Its unfortunate that the writing only steers the audience to care about Cobb and his wife Mal [Marion Cotillard]. There are interesting bonds, but they are made tacit by the film’s end. How long have Arthur [Joseph Gordon-Levitt] and Cobb been working together? Is there romance between Arthur and Ariadne? There were so many directions Inception was spinning in, but there were few that actually evoked an emotion or a personal investment in more than two or three characters. If the mystery is already explained then there is nothing to fear.
With these glaring flaws I’ve nitpicked and put in neon, you’d think I didn’t like this movie. On the contrary, Inception is the most interesting movie this year just based on technique. I’m hoping Michael Bey and Zack Snyder were paying close attention as to how the slow-motion mechanics in this film can be used to show the exemplary scenes of beauty -- motion pictures as art. Though there were scenes unnecessarily revisited [again, over-explaining to the audience] in order to convey how time moves differently in our dreams -- it has been a while since I’ve watched a movie and said, “I wonder how they did that.”
With these glaring flaws I’ve nitpicked and put in neon, you’d think I didn’t like this movie. On the contrary, Inception is the most interesting movie this year just based on technique. I’m hoping Michael Bey and Zack Snyder were paying close attention as to how the slow-motion mechanics in this film can be used to show the exemplary scenes of beauty -- motion pictures as art. Though there were scenes unnecessarily revisited [again, over-explaining to the audience] in order to convey how time moves differently in our dreams -- it has been a while since I’ve watched a movie and said, “I wonder how they did that.”
Fun Fact: Most Of The Architecture Found Early In The Movie Was Shot At Farnborough Airport In The U.K.I’d like to devote eight more paragraphs as to how underrated architecture is in movies [don’t worry, I’m not]. The majority of Inception takes place in someone’s dream, where scenes are shaped and molded and occasionally folded on top of themselves. Every corner and every column could have been technically painted or plotted on a graph -- giving scenes sterility and a certain coldness. I only disagreed with the vision of the landscape when Inception turned into a Modern Warfare video game nearing the end, but even then the cast was able to execute with tact whilst snapping necks and avoiding militarized snowmobiles.
DiCaprio's Performance Delivers In Inception, Unfortunately His Head Shots And Kill Streaks Need Work.Inception is dependent on so many moving parts. Sound and music are its anchor and the cast and directing are its mast. The plot moves the movie, albeit to the point of being noticeably slow, but the pay off is something I haven’t seen in years. Inception has little working against it and its buried deep in the details of the writing and the perception of what kind of audience watches movies. There are points where it feels like the movie doesn’t want you to think for yourself, but isn’t that what ambition and dreams are all about?
I Give Inception...
Imagine It Rubbing Up Against Your Cheek.The “Weird Dream Where I Have Six Fingers” Award