Christopher Nolan has a knack for making wonderfully engaging and rather dark films. Memento. Batman Begins. The Dark Knight. All these films were among the best films that came out in those respective years.
Inception belongs right up there with them. Nolan has crafted a tricky movie based on a tricky premise: people can go into your dreams to find your secrets. Despite the twists and turns, the dreams within dreams, the film manages to tell a coherent and comprehensible tale of espionage and deception.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb, a corporate spy, stealing business secrets for whoever will pay for them. Cobb is hired to do the impossible: plant a thought inside someone’s head rather than steal one. He has to put a team together, and the action begins.
It’s hard to say much more without spoiling most of the fun here. The visuals are appealing. The effects are nifty, but unlike so many other films, the emphasis is on the story and the characters, not the CGI.
DiCaprio is superb here, as are his supporting cast members. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays his second. Ellen Page is the greenest member of the team, the new architect of the dreamscapes in which their plans unfold. Cillian Murphy is Robert Fischer, Jr., their target. All of them do a fine job, but the emphasis of the film is on Cobb, and DiCaprio has the chops to bring the depth to the character that he requires.
This is smart summer fare. Not too heavy, but definitely raises some fascinating questions. It made me wish I still taught Introduction to Philosophy on a regular basis; this film would be perfect for the class.
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I saw this last night! Thought it was fantastic, one of Leo’s best performances.