INCEPTION (REVIEW)
Rated
M
148 minutes
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page,
Marion Cotillard, Talulah Riley, Michael Caine, Lukas Haas
Prepare
to be baffled, amazed, fascinated and challenged on a grand scale - in that order.
Provided you remember to take a breath, 'Inception' is an unforgettable film -
although you may need to see it twice because it plays like a confounding game
of mind Monopoly.
Leonardo DiCaprio is again at the top of
his game. He plays Dom Cobb, a professional invader of the subconscious mind where
one person enters another person's brainwaves, through a dream to either extract,
or insert, an idea or information. Extraction is a threat to big business employees
and are taught to seek out any threats or foreign objects within their minds.
Corporations, just like the one run by the strange Mr. Saito (Oscar nominee, Ken
Watanabe) hire Dom and his small dream team to get inside peoples heads to lure
shifting business perspectives. However, Dom wants out and says his latest job
of head case espionage will be his last. Or will it?
The assignment
is to focus on the son of a dying industrialist, a mystery man known as Fischer.
It requires Dom to 'plant' an idea into Fischer's dreams making him mentally relaxed,
but not in a good way. Things get unexpectedly personal and Dom stirs up memories
of his own romantic past involving not one but two significant women. I will say
no more, except pay attention, the brain teasing film demands a watchful eye.
'Inception'
is flawless. Director Christopher Nolan ('Dark Knight') is a visionary. Not since
his jaw dropping thriller 'Memento' has he crafted such a chess-like puzzle onto
the screen. His deconstruction of elements in the plot is exhausting, but the
equally poetic montage of action scenes are unlike anything I have ever seen in
three decades of movie viewing. Such as a freight train beelining through a main
street traffic jam - extraordinary! There are also reverse fight scenes - up walls
and on ceilings.
Filmed in locations over six countries, including
the steaming heat of Morocco, to Japan and France, it only adds to the distinct
nature of the plot. Leonardo is joined by an amiable cast including ever reliable,
Sir Michael Caine and the return of the great, Tom Berenger, while 'Juno' star,
Ellen Page is also on hand in her own unique way. She plays a newcomer to the
dream team - a sort of apprentice with a blunt outlook at what's going on around
her. A quip during proceedings, 'Who's subconscious are we in now exactly?' brings
a rare lighter moment to the manifesting drama.
Showing pure
grace in every scene, Marion Cotillard is a powerful presence. Winning an Oscar
for playing French singer Edith Piaf, it's ironic that 'La Vie en Rose' is heard
on the soundtrack more than once. Little known British actress Talulah Riley,
last seen as a spiteful student in 'St. Trinians', has a small but pivotal role
and Joseph Gordon-Levitt shows the exact radical talent he did opposite Mickey
Rourke in 'Killshot'.
This is an absolute must see! A turning
point in cinema for 2010 - literally.
Shane A. Bassett
