Inception

Inception
Year: 2010
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Ken Watanbe, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine

In My Own Words
I would have been insanely disappointed if “Inception” had not lived up to my expectations. It’s not often I admit that about a film, or that I even let myself think like that. All I had to do was look at the components that made up this film in order to get excited. The combination of an intriguing storyline, one of the best directors going around at the moment and a stellar cast which includes many an award nominee, what wasn’t there to be excited about?! And....I was not disappointed. “Inception” is pure brilliance. So brilliant that I am afraid my review won’t do it justice. I left the cinema completely speechless and all I could so was hold up 9 fingers to my other half to indicate my rating out of 10.

Unlike many other movies, “Inception” is able to excel on all levels. Many wonderful films will be wonderful for either the acting or the cinematography, but not often does a film come along which excels in both. “Inception” does. Christopher Nolan has placed everything together perfectly and his knack for selecting his cast members is definitely commendable. Personally, I believe Leonardo DiCaprio and Marion Cotillard are two of the finest actors alive at the moment. DiCaprio seems to be getting better and better. In high school, I struggled to take DiCaprio seriously for his heart throb status from films such as “Romeo + Juliet” and “Titanic”. Don’t get me wrong, he was good in both and the movies weren’t bad, but it is hard for actors to be taken seriously when their posters are up in everything 14 year olds locker at school. However, “The Aviator”, “The Departed” and “Blood Diamond” each showed how far this man has come and how he is definitely one of the best actors of our time. And Marion Cotillard, she has the ambience on the screen that the stars of the Golden Hollywood age. Her Oscar winning role in “La Vie En Rose” made the world sit up and take notice of this French star and she has shown her quality continuingly since then in glowing roles in “Public Enemies” and “Nine”.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
“What's the most resilient parasite? An Idea.” In this quote, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Cobb is speaking about the implantation of ideas in the human mind, although it could well be “Inception” director, Christopher Nolan describing his journey with his new masterpiece. Nolan approached Warner Bros with the idea for “Inception” first back in 2002 without a script, but even without this, both he and Warner Bros knew what they had in their hands. From this idea grew the larger than life and mind-blowing “Inception” which has only just been released now in July 2010. It has well been worth the wait. Nolan could well be one of the best directors of our time. He pushes everything to the limit in this film and every little detail is sewn up tightly and with the greatest care. This film could well be the best of the year.

Cobb and his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are in the business of extracting information from the minds of others by exploring their subconscious in their dreams. It seems as though they have nearly come to the end of the road, when Cobb, who is still recovering from the death of his wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard) is approached by Saito (Ken Watanbe) with an offer he can’t refuse. Along with Arthur and the help of architectural genius, Ariadne (Ellen Page) they begin to try and plant an idea in the mind of Robert Fischer Jr. (Cillian Murphy), but little do they know the dark depths they are really exploring of not only Fischer’s mind, but of someone else’s mind that is far more dangerous.

Absolutely everything about “Inception” is amazing. The story is completely original and wonderfully written by Nolan. It is absolutely intriguing and extremely clever, with no stone been left unturned and no questions are left unanswered. Nolan completely captures the dream world and will make you remember things from your dreams that you normally do forget once you have woken up. The whole concept of extracting information from dreams and implanting ideas in people’s dreams is complete genius. The cinematography and special effects are definitely something to write home about and people will leave the cinema talking about their favourite sequences. “Inception” is one of those movies you will have to see at the cinema to get the most out of. The musical score is also perfectly suited to the movie and is able to capture the darkness of the situation at hand.

The acting is superb in “Inception”. The acting and the storyline are what differentiates ‘Inception” from all the other action and sci-fi blockbusters out there. The acting fleshes out the raw human emotion involved in the situations in the films and draws the viewer in even more. The star of the film is DiCaprio and he is back to his high calibre of acting. He draws on his past roles of both the tough talking detective and the sensitive husband and father and combines them both in this role with fantastic results. He is a mystery, but at the same time connects with the audience on many levels. Marion Cotillard is also superb. It is like she plays multiple roles in this film..the loving wife and mother, the unstable wife and mother, the seductress, the evil spirit and the list goes on. She is completely believable and an amazing character who has so much presence and control over the audience every time she appears on the screen. High praise definitely goes to Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page and Cillian Murphy. Each of these actors plays a role completely unlike any other role they have every done and pulls it off perfectly, which is rises another praise for Nolan. He cast these actors and pushes them to their limits in roles which they are not known for . Nolan is a director which actors relate to very well, hence why so many actors he has previously worked with keep re-appearing in his films. Many of his co-stars would have had to have been jealous of Gordon-Levitt however, he is part of some of the most awesome scenes in the movie which would have been a real treat to have taken part in.

“Inception” is not to be missed. This is definitely Nolan’s best film to date and he is worthy of every piece of praise that he receives for it. He could have well been responsible for the best film of the year and one can only hope that the academy remembers him come Oscar season next year. There are many awards he and his cast should win for this masterpiece and there is no reason they shouldn’t be remembered next year, as “Inception” is a film that will not be forgotten.
9.5/10