Inception

Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Release Date: July 16, 2010
Length: 2 hours 28 minutes

When has Christopher Nolan ever disappointed? Batman Begins, The Prestige, and let’s not forget The Dark Knight all caught the world’s interest. Now he can add Inception, another groundbreaking film to his small, but incredible list. In Inception, people can be put into dreams using drug-filled machines. These aren’t just any ordinary dreams though, they’re dreams that are designed by architects. These are dreams that, besides whoever is put into them, are filled with projectionists of that person’s subconscious. When you see the film, you will understand this parallel dream world far more than me explaining this to you in a review, so let’s discuss the people who have these dreams. Cobb (Leonardo Dicaprio) is an extractor, which means he is hired by his clients to go into other people’s dreams and find information. He and his co-worker, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are now being asked by a rich Japanese businessman to do Inception, which is to plant an idea in somebody’s mind, a task that is almost impossible. In order to fulfill this task, Cobb must assemble a team. He hires a bright college student, Ariadne (Ellen Page), an old friend Eames, to study the people in their subject’s life, and a drug specialist, Yusuf (Deelip Rao). His job may be harder though, with his dead wife, Mal (Marion Cottilard) appearing in all the dreams. People won’t rush to the theatres just because Christopher Nolan’s name is attached to it. They will rush to theatres because it looks like an extraordinary film, whether or not they know who is directing it. It’s almost as if Nolan’s ideas are a big piece of meat and we are starving, panting dogs begging for more. It seems that all it takes is for Nolan to snap his fingers and we are all intrigued. Every one of Nolan’s films is nothing short of brilliant and unique. Each time I walk out of one of his movies, I either think that this was one of the greatest films I’ve ever seen or that this was his best film yet. Right now, I believe Inception to be his greatest film, but I will have to wait a few months for the impact of it to wear off and realize that each of his movies are as innovative as the last. Now, it’s not just the way Nolan wrote the script or directed the film that works so effectively, but his casting has always been nothing short of perfection. He has always used ensemble casts which have always worked in his favor. There is always a major star (Leonardo Dicaprio), a few rising stars (Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon Levitt), an old face (Michael Caine), and a completely new face (Thomas Hardy). Apparently Nolan’s first and only choice for the role of Cobb was Dicaprio and rightly so. Dicaprio has always been a fantastic actor, but with age, he has gathered an enormous power and confidence to his roles. At the same time though, Dicaprio beautifully portrays this strong character mentally falling under the memory of his deceased wife. I couldn’t have been happier that one of my favourite Canadian actresses, Ellen Page was to co-star in this movie. After seeing Whip It last October, I became worried that Page’s quick humor and raw talent would be wasted on a type casted teenage role she would be replaying for the next couple of years. Her performance in Inception was extremely captivating. Page may not be the best actor in this film, but she is the most authentic. She has always been a genuine actor and made me believe everything that is happening to her character. There was a great balance between the actors in Inception, with different kinds of great performances. A surprise acting turn came from Joseph Gordon Levitt, who most people know from the romantic comedy 500 Days Of Summer. It wasn’t a surprise to see Gordon-Levitt in a dramatic, slightly kick-ass role, when you think of his past films Brick, Stop-Loss or The Lookout, but I almost didn’t recognize him without his cute, dorky grin on his face. A newcomer to North American audiences, Thomas Hardy almost stole the whole movie for me, with his suave, debonair performance as Eames. In the scenes with the whole ensemble, I found myself drawn toward him just as much as I was drawn toward Dicaprio.  With any cast however, I would have been drawn into the concept of Inception. The story was extremely creative and original, the writing was smart and attention grabbing, and the technical aspects of the film were done perfectly. It was enough to keep the action of this film alive and not too much for it to overshadow the story. My attention did not turn away from the film once during the two and a half hours in the theatre. Inception is not just a great movie, but a great movie experience. You won’t want the movie to end. You’ll see it again and again and again until you are sick of it. Inception is this summer’s must see.