It’s interesting to see how Christopher Nolan’s career has been continuously evolving. Even though his first film was “The Following”, it was “Memento” that put him on the map and announced his stake in the film world. “Memento” was the type of film that cleverly played with the narrative structure while placing it against the backdrop of a crime noir. Needlessly to say, Nolan’s gritty style and his meticulous script caught the eye of Hollywood and from that point on, he’s been crafting films in spite of convention. In addition to this, Nolan’s films, while still independent at heart, have been swelling in size and scope. This is most notable when comparing Nolan’s first breakout hit in “Memento” to “The Dark Knight”. With “The Dark Knight”, Nolan stripped down the schemata of a comic book film and made a film that was more on par with a crime saga than one that was about a man running around in a pair of tights. Through “The Dark Knight”, one can get a sense that Nolan was on top of his game as he was welding two elements that seemed mutually exclusive: artistic expression and big studio clout.
With the success of “The Dark Knight” pulsating through Hollywood, Nolan was able to fund his dream project (no pun intended) in “Inception”. In the case of “Inception”, it has the cast and the big studio sheen to it that was found in “The Dark Knight”, but it has the narrative tumble that resembles Nolan’s earlier films. Granted, it’s not nearly as complicated as his previous films, but its ambition rivals almost any film in existence. The film functions on one basic notion: dreams can be invaded and secrets, that can manifest themselves in dreams, can be stolen. The film opens up with Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio),with his right hand man Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), attempting to steal a secret from the CEO of a Japanese conglomerate. Said CEO is Saito (Ken Wantanabe). Unfortunately, their heist goes awry, leaving Cobb and Arthur in the clutches of Saito. Before releasing them, Saito makes them an offer that would allow Cobb‘s exile status from the United States to be lifted. This is rather significant considering that Cobb has been exiled for quite some time and is desperately seeking a way back home to see his children. So, what’s the offer? It is the notion of inception, or the tactical operation of implanting an idea in another person’s mind via their dreams.
Inception is an operation that Cobb apparently knows inside and out. But, in order to succeed, Cobb must assemble a team that can help him run through a variety of dream states. In Ariadne (Ellen Page), he finds an architect, a person whose sole purpose is to construct the world of the dream. In this case, she constructs the dream in the sense of a maze where only she knows where to go, and thus can assist in leading the team through the dream. In Eames (Tom Hardy), Cobb has his forger, who’s expected to copycat the identities that closely relate to the subject whom Cobb is trying to implant with an idea. Cobb also recruits Yusef (Dileep Rao) who is an inoculation expert, something necessary to reach the dream state. And rounding out Cobb’s team of bandits is Arthur and Saito himself, who has a huge investment in this excursion simply because he wants to plant an idea in his company’s rival: Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy). As the team assembles, Nolan throws at us an immense amount of exposition detailing dreams and inner workings of the mind. What could’ve become tedious moments of explanation are indeed fantastic moments of discovery as the cast gleefully plays around with the subject of cognitive psychology and the insane premise they find themselves in.
And once we finally get in to the implementation of Cobb’s plan, “Inception” really takes flight as it seamlessly balances effects driven pieces with ambitious storytelling. From a Paris street caving in on itself to a gravity defying fight in a hallway, Christopher Nolan has crafted a film that is visually stunning. Not to mention, the crisp visuals play extremely well in to Nolan’s deft ability of creating a dream world that we inherently are familiar with. But, as alluded to, this film is beyond the visual orgasm. Boasting a script that has a plot that takes place within a dream, within a dream, within a dream, the film challenges the viewer to pay attention. This is especially true when there is activity strung across the many levels of a dream, yet unlike his work in “Memento”, Nolan’s script works in a rather linear fashion. More specifically, we can continuously discern between the levels of a dream Nolan dives in to. Whether it be through dialogue or production design, we know where we’re at any point in the movie.
And despite the film being in many different levels simultaneously, Nolan is able to keep the film’s momentum moving as he jumps from point to point. Through the use of a time defying technique, Nolan’s screenplay constantly raises the stakes as he has numerous characters working on differing levels of a dream, trying to synch up with the work of other characters. Seeing these characters working separate from one another heightens the drama as we hope they can pull it all off. Normally films of this nature start to unwind when they attempt to delve deeper and deeper into their complex premise, but Nolan has control of his world. This is attributed to Nolan’s ability to lay the framework for the world he’s playing in. As the film goes along, especially in the earlier scenes, Nolan establishes the laws and rules that exist in his world, a world where dreaming is close to being a tangible experience. By establishing and following rules, as well as using practical ideals from cognitive psychology, “Inception” never feels like it’s going beyond itself simply to mess with the audience. It’s constantly playing within the frames of its universe that Nolan verbally and aesthetically drops within the scenes.
With the effects and inventive screenplay aside, we ride a zip line from the beginning to the end simply because we want to see Cobb accomplish his goal: reach his children. It’s Cobb’s desire to see his children and stop hiding in exile that makes the film ultimately worthwhile. After all, there must be a legitimate reason for us to expel our concentration on the film’s logic, let alone the character’s risking their lives for a businessman’s attempt to further dominate his market. Nolan refuses to lose sight of this human element and it’s a factor that further exemplifies his ability to take a tent pole summer film and flesh it out in to an earth shattering film experience. Make no bones about it, “Inception” is a demonstration of a world class filmmaker delivering a blockbuster film without sacrificing his artistic integrity, nor his past.
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