Inception was advertised as a summer blockbuster, meaning an action film usually with a simple script that therefore does not require its audience to actually think. Yet Inception has the complexity of a conspiracy theory, the emotional depth of a drama, and the sort of groundbreaking subject that we see in science fiction. The premise is what if we could access someone’s mind, specifically their dreams – which leads many of us to promptly assume that this should be a movie with no boundaries of any kind, where its creator’s imagination should flow, freely, in an effervescently insane tone. But this is not just fiction – it’s science fiction. So boundaries and rules are crucial elements for the theory’s credibility.
The idea first came to director Christopher Nolan several years ago, when he was still a student. Starting from the notion that in dreams, despite their strong surrealism, everything appears to be so real to the point that we actually feel pain, Nolan built a script that defies the rules of logic and yet, we take it without questioning it. In the film, dreams seem so real at times that it becomes difficult to set them apart from reality. From this uncertainty comes the element of surprise, one of the strongest aspects of Inception. Taking suspense to a whole new level, Inception creates a feeling of excitement that you can sense in the air, demanding its audience’s full attention and making it much more than a film – it quickly becomes a thrilling experience. With all of this, there would certainly be enough fandoms – but what makes this an epic film is the key element to every good story – passion.
Without Cobb and Mal’s moving story, Inception would be cold-hearted, incapable of establishing an emotional relationship with its viewers. Leonardo DiCaprio and Marion Cotillard take on the roles of these two tortured characters, capturing in few moments the emotion of a lifetime. Wether in tragic scenes that go beyond tears or moments of pure thrill, here the limits of these two grand actors are pushed in a scenario that goes beyond – yes – your wildest dreams.
On a final note, Inception is the kind of film everyone should see in a movie theater. It is really a great experience, and with a huge screen, that amazing Hans Zimmer soundtrack really loud, and lots of people around… I swear I could feel the excitement in the air. And during that final scene, I’ve never seen a room that quiet, it felt like everyone was leaning forward, whispering stop spinning, please stop spinning… As far as thrilling films go, it’s the best.