Inception

I finally made time to go see Inception. With two kids and a whole list of responsibilities that I'd bore people with, I'm just happy that I had a chance to see the film in the theater.

I had heard several friends talk about the film and thankfully my brother and I hadn't talked about the movie. (He loves ruining the endings of movies to people. Not on purpose, but he'll just say something like: "Yeah, Bruce Willis was dead the whole time.") So, what did I think about Inception? In a nutshell, I enjoyed the layers upon layers of the film. The complexity of the plot and the sheer brilliance in pushing the envelope of challenging the audience was refreshing. How wonderful to sit back and lose track of reality in the film. Was I within the characters in a dream, within a sub-dream or had I missed another layer--and then to realize that I was watching fiction on the screen tickled me pink. The multi-layered complexities played out well.

My main complaint was Ellen Page's character in the movie. She acted as the audience's guide to the world, turning to other characters and reminding them of the rules of the dream world or asking questions that the audience would want answered. I understand the need for her dialogue, but it did become annoying at times. On a personal note, I also had a difficult time separating her from Juno and her character in the film. I have her typecast as playing a certain type of woman in a film--granted, that's my issue, but I did find this detracting at times.

But what about the movie itself? I can safely say that if Christopher Nolan is going to direct a film, I'll pay special attention to it and he's not led me wrong yet--Memento, The Prestige and The Dark Knight. He's a solid director. Very solid. In the opening scene, I loved his direction and how the eye of the camera captures the light of Japanese lanterns hanging from the ceiling, creating a rich-textured world for the viewer to take in, and how he interjects the other worlds in an organic way. The audience isn't spoonfed the rules of the world nor are we given the details of what we're actually seeing. We're thrown right into the plot and the movie never stops.

I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to have a director treat me like an adult and challenge me to think, to wonder and question. Question not only what is real, but how my subconscious might affect those around me. Being a believer in Jungian psychology, I often dream and then interpret my dream experience by imaging parts of my psyche as the pieces of the dream. For example, if you dream of being in school and someone piling lots of books on the desk in front of you, imagine that you're the desk and are feeling overloaded with all the books on your back. It's a simple example but as Jung believed in the individuation process in which people strive toward self-actualization by embracing their persona, shadow, anima/animus and self. In Inception, you can have a field day analyzing Cobb's personality. His regret and guilt over his wife Mal and his longing to get back to his children is spread throughout the film, open and raw. He's complex, guarded and yet accepting that he has problems and willing to accept some help.

Whereas The Matrix might have a similar plot, Inception is about the individual and not saving the human race. The grand scope of the The Matrix, so embraced in its time, crashed and burned after the first film as the Wachowski brothers hit a wall and did not know where to go with the film. Nolan keeps exploring memory and the depth of emotional feelings in his films. Watch Memento and then Inception and compare the two husbands trying to overcome their guilt about their marriages. There is a progression there as Cobb is offered a choice: Will he let go of his guilt and embrace self-actualization or remain stuck, unable to let his wife go?

Inception is not a film for everyone and for those looking for a nice tidy ending might be disappointed. But having grown up watching French films in seeing such heartbreaking endings, I was pleased to see some ambiguity in the film's ending. As Cobb's totem (well, Mal's totem, but you get the point) spins on the table and he heads off, you will ask yourself: What does the ending mean? Not wanting to ruin the film for those who haven't seen it, I'll simply say that as with any great art how you answer the meaning of the ending will help you learn more about yourself. For me, Cobb leaves the totem and heads off with his children is symbolic. His positive action clearly shows that he's moved on, leaving behind his guilt and choosing to embrace his children. The nuances of the ending (and those who have seen the film know what I'm talking about): Do they truly matter? Maybe we are all just the dream of God, in a universe that we'll never truly understand. Yet, with what is within our control, what we can embrace today, and more importantly, why don't we?

Comments

[Nat]

"Maybe we are all just the dream of God, in a universe that we'll never truly understand. Yet, with what is within our control, what we can embrace today, and more importantly, why don't we?"

I love the way you ended this post. It's so true. We only have control over OUR perception of reality, so we need to embrace it and go with it and try to enjoy it while accepting it for ambiguous dream/unreality/suprareality/illusion it may be.

[Ron]

Why, thank you. The last sentence is a bit jumbled (the kids were getting up and I was knocked out of my groove--not to blame them, just to state the facts), but, as I'm imperfect, I also rather like how I ended the post. I was going to go on, but--I think those lines nail what I meant.