First Take Classics: Inception- Dreaming about dreaming about dreaming

SYNOPSIS:

A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a CEO.

And here we are. Christopher Nolan’s masterwork from 2010. I got to know this film inside and out for college work, and it still didn’t dampen my enjoyment of what is arguably the most daring Hollywood feature of its kind. I would go into detail on the plot, but that would ruin the experience for first time viewers.

Nolan writes and directs this film incredibly well, with the same flair and polish that made The Dark Knight such a success- clocking in at an incredibly tight, refined and perfectly paced 2 hours 28 minutes, it’s almost like Warners gave him a sizeable amount of money and the instruction to do what he wanted with it, and this complex narrative that boils down to the most basic plot devices is the result- add to that some incredible cinematography from Wally Pfister, some absolutely mindblowing in-camera visual effects, and of course, the usual blaring score from Hans Zimmer to soundtrack the (mostly mind-based) action.

And then we have the performances. All of them are fantastic. So I shall just list the cast. Leonardo DiCaprio. Tom Hardy. Cillian Murphy. Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Ellen Page. Marion Cotillard. And bloody Michael Caine. This is an incredibly gifted cast, and Nolan is able to get some incredible work from them all, with enough character development to really warrant gasps at the way the film ended- all I shall say on that final shot of the film is that it is one of the best uses of the cliffhanger device I’ve seen in all my years watching films.

THE VERDICT

This is a piece of 21st century cinematic history. See it big and loud, and then see it again- because it will take you multiple viewings to truly understand and get into this film.

RATING: 5/5