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Inception
To write much about Inception might
be to rob you of its pleasures. Perhaps that's just an idea
planted in my head by reading many other writers express
that sentiment. It's hard to tell for sure, and that's the
trick of Inception.
Don't
let the hype fool you completely - though this is a film
of many colors, easily the smartest big budget blockbuster
made since, well, Nolan's last film, The
Dark Knight, Inception can be enjoyed on
a couple of levels.
For those looking for a science fiction
film, Inception is that. Despite much of the film
looking pretty much like our time and place, I don't think
Dominic Cobb's (Leonardo DiCaprio) occupation of "Extractor"
actually exists. Oh, lord, please no. Yet the conception
of all that job must be is extremely thorough and cool.
Stick with cool and you're fine, but if you want to go deeper,
it's there.
If action movie is more your speed, then
Inception offers that, too. Nolan has often expressed
interest in directing a James Bond movie. Consider this
an audition piece, because the writer/director handles violence
better here than he did in his Batman films. Two bravura
sequences, one involving an assault on a snow-covered base,
are tightly paced, complex yet easy to track. They're so
good, I'd watch a G.I. Joe movie if Nolan directed
it.
Plus he makes an action star out of Joseph
Gordon-Levitt. Unsurprisingly, the guy makes a strong mark
in this movie, holding his own with DiCaprio and stealing
huge segments for himself. But only because Nolan lets him.
Should psychological thriller be your cup
of tea, then let Inception brew in your head for
a while. Yet again, that's only if you let it. It is
brainy, but Nolan lays out the plot clearly enough that
it can be followed without having to ponder the deeper meaning
of what's going on here. But come on, you're going to want
to ponder.
It has a couple of weak moments in relationships
and motivations left unexplained. Though Michael Caine's
glorified cameo helps move the plot along, the logic of
it is a little flimsy. Then again, that helps keep us off
balance while assuring us that we are, indeed, balanced.
It's an
all-star parfait, an assemblage of actors who all can and
should headline their own films. Marion Cotillard makes a
stronger impression here than in last year's Public
Enemies, and Ellen Page finally moves away from being
just a verbally clever young woman, softening herself to be
our way into the exposition. Aside from Gordon-Levitt, another
actor poised to headline is Tom Hardy, the man who will be
Mad Max.
Nolan
also reaches back to resuscitate 80's stars Tom Berenger
and Lukas Haas, here in character roles that they could
have walked through, but don't. Both make strong impressions,
and their presence reminds us that they don't make them
like this anymore, though of course they never did but they
are now.
Suffice to say that Inception is
the movie for adults to see this summer. You may
never dream the same way again.
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