Film Review Inception 
US 2010. Cert: 12A. 148 mins. Dir: Christopher Nolan. Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy
Film Review: Inception
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With a pedigree that includes the mind-bending Memento and the franchise-saving Batman Begins/The Dark Knight, it’s clear that director Christopher Nolan likes to play mind-games with his audience and give them something to chew on, rather than your more predictable popcorn product. The problem with his latest film Inception is that while it exercises the brain in both admirable and well thought-out fashion, it arguably does very little for the heart.
DiCaprio is fugitive Dom Cobb – a man whom you can hire to enter the dreams of others and seek out their secrets – making for industrial espionage on a surreal scale. Previous target Saito (Watanabe) makes Cobb a counter-offer. If he works for him he’ll make sure charges against Cobb surrounding the death of his wife are dropped and he can be with his children again. The catch is that he wants Cobb and his team to reverse their remit – to plant an idea in a rival’s dreams, rather than steal information. To do so will require a more intricate mission: dreams within dreams within dreams and with Cobb’s subconscious mind already compromised, this is a con-job with dangerous consequences…
Inception should be genuinely applauded for its intelligent plot and technical expertise, and it certainly has the theme of regret by the virtual bucket load – but like a French art house movie given a dreamy budget, people talking about their emotions is no substitute for actually feeling them. Equally, Nolan’s dream-world seems more like virtual reality scenario than active dreamscape. The visual effects change the laws of physics in downtown Paris, but they are given the feel of large-scale illusions rather than limitless imagination. This is surely one of those occasions where the boat could have been pushed out even further. Nolan constructs his puzzles brilliantly and intricately but this is a film that needs more air to breathe and free-form. It gazes longingly at its own borders but never feels like it’s pushing them.
However, there is much to like in Inception – particularly its initial ambition, something all too missing from far too many formulaic outings in today‘s cinema. Its questions of what is real (and what is merely wished for) will likely keep audiences satisfied through the duration of its running time, but ultimately it still feels like something of a missed opportunity, and more ’fun’ and humour is needed to balance out the weightier issues. ‘Je ne regrette rien…’ is the telling song that runs through much the film (with perhaps knowing irony that co-star Cotillard also portrayed Piaf in La Vie En Rose) but this is one of those rare occasions where the foot-tapping ‘A little less conversation, a little more action please…’ might also have sufficed as subtext.
Definitely worth seeing, if not quite believing, Inception may also be the most talked-about talkfest of the summer.
On general release
Posted on Friday 23rd July 2010
John Mosby
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Comment by Sophie Haydock
Posted on Thu 29th Jul 10 12:01 pm
I went to see this last night and it was pretty good - not as complicated as loads of people made out - much less confusing than a typical David Lynch film in my opinion. But enjoyable, in an action-movie-in-three-dimensions kind of way…
