Inception

Dim lights Embed Embed this video on your site Directed by Christopher Nolan (the man who made Batman cool again), Inception is a work of art. Visually stunning and fantastically complex, and with elements of Ocean’s Eleven, The Matrix and the Bourne films, it is a non-stop thrill-ride to the perfect finale.
Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a high-tech thief, sneaking into the dreams and minds of his marks in order to steal personal info and valuable secrets. When he is hired for an assignment of a different kind – infiltrating the mind of wealthy businessman Cillian Murphy to plant an idea instead of stealing one – he recruits an elite team of experts: Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), his right-hand man; Ariadne (Ellen Paige), an architect who creates the dream-worlds, and Eames (Tom Hardy), a forger with the ability to take the form of various people from the dreamer’s subconscious.

If the plot sounds confusing, that’s because it is. Nolan throws us head-first into the fractured dreams and imaginations of his characters, creating a world of shifting logic that follows no conventions and satisfies no expectations: drift off for ten minutes and spend the rest of the film struggling to catch up. Those who are familiar with Nolan’s previous efforts – particularly the sleight of hand in The Prestige and the twisting chronology of Memento – should be at least partly prepared for the complexity of Inception: he is certainly a director who consistently challenges his viewers. But he is also a director who consistently entertains his viewers, and Inception is no different.

The film is crammed full of awesome action sequences and breathtaking stunts; by setting the majority of scenes inside the characters’ minds, Nolan is able to make full use of a range of jaw-dropping special effects that turn the landscape he has created on its head – literally, at one point. In one dream, Dom and Ariadne sit at an outdoor table as the world explodes around them in a shower of wood and glass; in another, Arthur fights a couple of armed guards in a revolving hotel corridor.

Despite the flashy effects, Nolan still makes room for character development. In particular, the bickering between Arthur and Eames provides some light relief in an otherwise sombre film, as does the hint of romance between the former and Ariadne. The introduction of Mal (Marion Cotillard) – a ghost from Dom’s past who stalks his subconscious – gives us a glimpse of his tragic history and offers a motive for his line of work.

Inception is a masterpiece: it is technically perfect, emotionally arresting and thoroughly captivating; the best film of 2010 so far.

CMD