Movie Monday: Inception

Day 60

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Arthur) and Leonardo DiCaprio (Cobb)

WARNING: this blog posting is devoted to the movie phenomenon that is Inception. For anyone who has not seen this movie (but plans on seeing it) you will need to skip the end of this post, because it has some spoilers. Actually, I recommend reading any of the blog postings from the blogs I follow (anyway, they are all better than mine on any given day, so it’s a win-win for you readers!)

I love, love, love this movie! I’ve seen it FOUR times in the theater; this is a rarity for me, because usually I will see a movie I love two or three times in the theater. For example, I saw Avatar three times; I saw Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith three times - they are great movies! But as for movies I have seen four times in the theater there has been only one: Inception.

Why do I love this movie? What’s not to love about it? It is exciting, innovative; it is full of amazing stunts, incredible visuals, a complex and engaging plot, fascinating and unique characters, deep emotional issues, an awesome pumped-up score, outstanding direction (by Christopher Nolan), brilliant performances…I could go on and on.

When I saw Inception the first time I found myself literally gripping the arm rests of my seat; I had to force myself to stay in my seat; I had to bite my tongue to prevent myself from yelling cheers at the screen or making comments out loud (as I was seeing this movie on my own).

The stunts, the visual tapestry of images reminded me of another innovative movie (and another favorite of mine): The Matrix. It was released in 1999, but now we’re in 2010 and things have definitely changed/advanced/improved!

The plot is very complex and somewhat difficult to explain, but in very simple terms (and without giving away anything important) it is about people who work in “extraction”: a process of entering another person’s dream, finding out their secrets/ideas and stealing them. But there is another process that DiCaprio is hired to do, called “inception”: instead of stealing an idea they would plant an idea into the mind of another person.

[I just had a thought…what if the reason I love this movie is because someone pulled an “inception” on me, planting a thought that I would love this movie and see it again, and again, and again…] Nah, just kidding (I hope)

Ellen Page (Ariadne) and DiCaprio

The cast is perfect: whether you like Leo DiCaprio or not is a non-issue, because I thought he was superb. I didn’t see Howard Hughes or Jack Dawson on the screen, I saw this new character: Dom Cobb. DiCaprio is surrounded by a great supporting cast which includes: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as Cobb’s partner in crime); Ken Watanabe (as the client), Ellen Page (as the architect); Tom Hardy (as the forger); Cillian Murphy (as the “mark”); Dileep Rao (as the chemist); and Marion Cotillard (as Cobb’s wife).


SPOILER ALERT: Do not read beyond this point unless you have already seen the movie or if you have no interest in seeing the movie and just want to know what the heck it is all about! Remember: you have been warned….



The movie’s ending has caused a great amount of debate and analysis and those involved usually fall into one of two categories: they either believe that Cobb is dreaming at the end or they believe that Cobb is not dreaming and has, in fact, returned to his children, after successfully completing the inception assignment. Cobb has also come to terms with his wife Mal, accepting her death and realizing that the Mal in his dreams is just a projection, and not the real Mal.

Here’s my take on it: Of course he is NOT dreaming! He is in reality the moment he wakes up on the plane home. Granted, the last shot of the movie is of his “totem”, the top, still spinning (which would imply that Cobb is dreaming); but if you listen carefully you can hear that the top is beginning to wobble, therefore it is beginning to lose its rotation. As an audience, we don’t need to see it topple; we know it will stop from the sounds. Period. End of discussion! Do not try and convince me otherwise!

I recently read online that a person figured out that Cobb was not dreaming at the end because he only wears his wedding ring in his dreams, not in reality (because in reality Cobb’s wife Mal is dead and Cobb has accepted this). At the end of the movie Cobb returns to his children and does not have his wedding ring on. This is according to someone else, and I will have to see the movie again to verify this.