Inception (2010)

I’ve begun typing this review several times now, and each time I find myself erasing and starting over. With a movie like Inception, where so much interpretation is required, it’s difficult to break down. It’s akin to a puzzle, where the solving of the puzzle is the entertainment, instead of just the solution itself. Having only seen the movie once, for what undoubtedly requires multiple viewings, I offer this kneejerk reaction: Inception is one the best movies I’ve ever seen.

The plot of Inception is perplexing, especially in the first act, where the viewer has to struggle to make sense of what’s going on, with futility. However, if you can stick with it, the payoffs are worth it, as everything will eventually take shape. Inception is an incredibly rich sci-fi film where the discovery of the world and the rules within it justify the dense exposition required to get there.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Dom, a man trained to go into other people’s dreams and quite literally steal their secrets. With his back against the wall, he’s pushed into a job that asks him to place an idea in someone’s dream, instead. The stakes are raised and the complexity and depth are skyrocketed. It is very much a traditional heist movie, where a leader gathers a team of specialists to pull off a job (like Ocean’s 11), thrown into a fantastical setting, which gives the director room to do some incredible things, all within the context of the story. Like the Matrix before it, Inception gives us some intense, interesting, and sometimes mind-bending suspense sequences, but the world justifies their absurdity. Unlike most traditional summer blockbusters, however, it earns all of its action beats.

The actors in the film are all terrific, but their characters are all pretty empty, aside from what the actors bring. There isn’t much in the writing that shows their characteristics. At 2 ½ hours, however, I understand this choice. The star of Inception is the world of Inception and one key relationship. The others characters exist to highlight these, and not themselves. ...and depending on your interpretation of the ending, which can be a caveat for much of what can be said about the film.

The end of Inception is the kind that I love, where not only is the finale not spelled out, but that it isn’t conclusive. You may come to an answer different than that of your neighbor. You may not come to a conclusion at all. ...and it doesn’t matter. The ending is the boss’ briefcase in Pulp Fiction. It didn’t matter what was inside, so long as you knew it was valuable.