The Art Of ‘Inception’

Director: Christopher Nolan
…life is but a dream… within a dream… within a dream…
Leonardo DiCaprio is going off the deep end. First Shutter Island, and now this. Inception, much like Shutter island, is an exploration of the boundaries of reality. But while Shutter Island used personal identity and psychosis, Inception hits us from another angle; dreams. In both films, the directors lead us to question the reality of what we experience. But I must say that Inception is by far, more suave and sophisticated. It is downright ingenious. Inception goes much deeper than superficial personality, and it is psychologically sound. The Premise of Inception is the invention of a device that allows the user/s to enter the dreams of another person. This device–let us call it the Dream Machine–is ultimately used for (wouldn’t you know it) corporate espionage. DiCaprio’s character, Cobb, has been trained in the very delicate art of “extraction.” He is very adept at maneuvering through the dreamscapes of the unconscious mind, in order to get information. But while he has mastered this skill with others, he is far less successful at handling his own inner demons.
Cobb is on the run. He is a fugitive from the United States. He makes a living by taking on assignments from shady and powerful corporations dealing in espionage. When a new job offer comes along from wealthy industrialist Saito (played by ken Wantanabe) that he cannot resist, Cobb assembles an uncanny team of dreamers, each with unique abilities that will allow the team to successfully navigate

Asleep on the job: Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) watches over the dream team.

the dreamscape of their intended mark; one Robert Fischer Jr., played by Cillian Murphy (who, you may recall, was Scarecrow in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight). But there is a twist, of course; this new job will not involve the “extraction” of information, it will involve what is known as “inception,” or putting an idea into someone’s mind via there dreams. Cobb and his team must plant a seed deep in the mind of their mark that will in effect brainwash him into carrying out a specific task. But they will find out that dreams, and the unconscious can be, at the very least, unpredictable at times, and that if you are going to delve into someone else’s mind and share dreams with them, then you’d better be on top of your game.
Ellen Page plays Ariadne. She is the “architect”

Marion Cotillard and Leonardo DiCaprio get away from it all as Mal & Cobb.

of the team, who’s job is to design the basic scenery or setting of the dreamscape which the mark will inadvertently “flesh out;” filling in the details with the elements and symbolism of his own unconscious mind. (It gets really deep, so don’t lose you focus yet!) Ariadne is new to the whole concept, but she is a natural. In the dreamscape, she sort of maintains the integrity of the “backdrop.”
Tom Hardy (Who played Praetor Shinzon in Star Trek: Nemesis) is Eames (my personal favorite). He is a master forger by trade who, in the dreamscape–as it turns out, is capable of forging much, much more than signatures. Eames can study the physical characteristics and mannerisms of a person, and then replicate them to perfection in the dreamscape. He is a natural at shapeshifting.

Ken Wantanabe as Saito with Cotillard as Mal.

Director Chris Nolan brings back another old acquaintance, Michael Caine (Alfred of The Dark Knight) to play Miles. Miles is the creator of the device, the Dream Machine, that allows Cobb and his accomplices to enter the dreams of others. He is also Cobb’s father in-law, and the one who taught him everything he knows about the psychology dream navigation and extracting information.
The acting is top-notch, and Chris Nolan has put together an interesting array actors with believable characters that you really feel for. And while Inception is basically a science fiction movie, its subject matter is loosely based on a very real phenomenon called “lucid dreaming.” A lucid dream is a dream in which the dreamer is consciously aware that he is dreaming as the dream happens; a dream in which he can act with conscious volition in the same way he could if he were awake. Strange but true! There has been much scientific research done on this subject, and many books have been written about it. I myself am a lucid dreamer, and if you have been

Cobb tries to convince Mr. Fischer (Cillian Murphy) that he's dreaming.

following my blog, you may have read my article, “Lucid Dreaming: The Conscious Exploration Of The Psyche,” which sort of set the stage for this movie review. Inception plays on the darker side of the idea of lucid dreaming, but this phenomenon in itself is not wrought with peril, as the movie might lead you to believe. Learning and practicing the art of lucid dreaming is a very worthwhile endeavor.
There are lucid dreamers who have experienced “shared dreaming,” or “dream-linking.” This is when two dreamers have the same dream, but each from the perspective of their own dream “character.” This is pretty much what the Dream Machine in Inception does; it allows you to dream together with other dreamers.
It is apparent to me that Christopher Nolan, if he is not a lucid dreamer himself, has researched the subject very thoroughly, as he has created a movie with great insight and psychological depth. Inception is a work of art.

Cobb gives Ariadne (Ellen Page) a lesson in dream manipulation.

There was only one thing about this movie that I didn’t really care for; a bit of “dream splicing” that Nolan does right at the beginning of the movie. But, you’ll see what I mean when you watch it, if you haven’t done so already. Inception very easily lends itself to continuation. It is ripe with possibilities, and I think that Nolan might be able to come up with something even more fabulous for part two. I recommend this movie very highly. Leave a comment, and let me know what you think!

I give Inception 4 1/2 hits.