Savour it while it lasts... Review on Inception Movie

Wow!! Let me expand on that feeling. When you see something like this, and are expected to pen something down that will entice the readers; it becomes a huge responsibility. For I am in paralytic shock, well, as close to it one can be with their fingers still moving. There are three kinds of Wow –

There is, when you see something so mesmerisingly beautiful that you have no words for it kind of Wow. Then, there is, the aesthetic beauty kind of Wow. But the third one is the most dangerous and captivating – when you are in awe of what you have just seen or experienced, that it tingles you to the very core and you want to keep savouring it again and again kind of Wow. Inception belongs to this third category.

Dreaming is life’s solitary adventure. Whatever pleasures or terrors the dream state provides, we experience them alone or not at all. I can be D’Artagnan, wielding my sword, singing “One for all and all for one” and yet, to the outside world, I’d still be myself – the same old Virat. The secrets that I keep in my brain are for my eyes only. No one is allowed access to it. What if this wasn’t the case? But what if other people could literally invade my dreams, what if a technology existed that enabled to create and manipulate sleeping life with the goal of stealing our secret thoughts, or more unsettling still, implanting ideas in the deepest of subconscious states and making us believe they're our own?

Plot:

Revealing the plot would be mocking Nolan. Still, I’ll cut it to size so that the bare bones do tell a story. DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a thief who specializes in extraction – taking secrets from the subconscious. He is aided by Arthur (Joseph Gordon Levitt), the reliable second in command. Due to reasons that must remain unknown, for the sanctity of the film, DiCaprio is unable to return to his children in America – something which he desperately wants. What is his secret? Watch the movie to find out. He is asked to take “one last job” – and the price – if successful, he will be able to return home. Thus, he takes on the job. The job is proposed by Saito (played by Ken Watanabe), who asks Cobb to do an inception, the planting of ideas. Many people think it to be impossible and so, haven’t even tried. The Inception is to be done on Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy), an heir to a multi-million dollar energy empire. What the Inception intends to achieve? Watch the movie. So Cobb rounds up the team. Aside from Arthur, he needs Eames, the forger (Tom Hardy), gifted at impersonating people inside dreams, and Yusuf, the chemist (Dileep Rao), who makes the compounds that put people under. And with the aid of his father-in-law Miles (Michael Caine), he meets Ariadne (Ellen Paige). Named after the mythological character who helped Theseus find his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth, Ariadne is a young architect who is needed to create the subconscious landscapes in which the dreams will take place. The climax is shocking, touching and betraying. All I can say is that it involves Mal (played by Marion Cotillard).

I can hear Nolan laughing. He is saying – you reallythink it would be that simple? A simple ‘last job’ con script? Did you really think that a clichéd betrayal and a con job gone wrong would be worthy of a surprise? For there are numerous sub – plots. For eg: how does the team plan to go in and out of dreams? The instrument is very simple – something you can carry with you in a suitcase. What is it exactly – my lips are sealed!

The film literally explodes in your face. It is pretty long for an English film, mind you (148 minutes, I think) but the pace of it is breathtaking. It is very fast. In fact, to piece all the pieces together, including all the implied sub-plot endings is nearly impossible in one viewing. It is taxing not only on the eyes (for it is visually stunning), but taxing on the brain as well. Nolan suggestsendings for his numerous sub-plots, never clearly giving one. Still, the brilliance of it is, all these sub-plots come together in the larger scheme of things to make one, complete wholesome film.

A science fiction film relies on its film noir elements – non linear narrative, the narrative arc which unfolds, piece by piece, rather than completely obvious and overt. Also, the characters’ true motivations must always remain shrouded and under suspicion. Not only does Inception fulfill these basic elements, it is visually stunning. And when I say stunning, I MEAN stunning, mind you.There was pre-Avatar era and post Avatar era, but now I’m inclined to call it post Inception era. Avatar was visually sublime but lacked a complexity in narrative. It is so hard to fully appreciate Inception in one viewing without giving due credit to everyone involved. This was a film, a complete film where every aspect stands out. If I were to say the acting was brilliant, I would be undermining the cinematography, if I were to say that the cinematography was brilliant, I would be undermining set design and so on…

It seems like Nolan gave MichaelBay a crash course in “If you’re going to blow up things, this is how to do it”. Ariadne’s scene wherein she realizes she is in a dream is wonderfully picturised. The detailing is exquisite. It is as if Nolan decided to give his film a manicure! It is that precise! Also notable scenes are the airplane scene, wherein the team goes into the dream state. CONTINUED...