Genius Dreaming



This scene of a train blasting through a normal day of traffic is part of a brilliant psychological exploration of DiCaprio's character

 Caught the movie Inception the other night and I must say that I dearly regret not seeing this film in theaters originally. On the surface the visuals of the graphics are amazing throughout numerous sequences of the film, and beneath the surface the writing and acting in the picture are fantastic.

Inception picks off where the Matrix trilogy left off in several ways. First and foremost, the concept of the film exploring the depths of the mind and dreaming, including layers within layers, took the idea of artificial reality to new dimensions that the Matrix trilogy did not, which was something that I expected the series to explore in the final film, but ultimately fell flat with the superhero type embodiment that the main character Neo took on in the finale.

In addition, the movie brilliantly wove the storylines of three vastly different characters throughout in a manner that was worked flawlessly.

Cillian Murphy, perhaps best recognized as the Scarecrow in the recent Batman movies also directed by Christopher Nolan, does well as the subject of the dream manipulators by playing Robert Fischer, a man with a blank slate that is unknowing of what is occurring to him, yet does have a strong mind of his own that must be altered against his will with the impression that it is his own idea.

When I saw the trailers that this big epic movie featured Ellen Page of Juno I thought it seemed an awkward choice, but in hindsight it was spot on as she plays the part of an intelligent, inquisitive member of the team, Ariadne, who quickly masters her surroundings and becomes a grounding figure for the Leo DiCaprio leading figure, Cobb. The role is a critical element to the film as her lessons are also the storytelling tool for explaining much of the logistical nature in what the dream manipulators are doing and the boundaries that exist within it. Often times, these kinds of parts in movies feel as though they are last minute additions introduced by a director, producer or studio looking to dumb down the story or explain a complex idea and are poorly written. The manner in which Page’s character increasingly becomes a partner to Cobb instead of just being a minor character for storytelling purposes is a wonderful bit of writing as other characters on the team could have played that same crucial compass.

The writing, though, is at its best with the complexity of Cobb as it explores the psychological ramifications of what these individuals do as well as the emotional and subconscious affects of what can be altered in their own minds. The path that is taken in examining the despair within his own life and mind along with the underlying destruction it can cause to himself and others while the audience slowly tours the history of Cobb and his wife through Ariadne inside his mind, creates an empathy for the pain he is in and the yearning for it to come to an end in a climatic finish that poses even more unanswered questions that are yet satisfying for the viewer as it once again leaves the universal question of what exactly our lives are in the greater picture.

As for the visuals, on top of the extravagant mapping of the dreaming element, the quality of the digital effects were magnificently incorporated into the movie at the correct tone, avoiding the common trap of over-utilizing them in a manner that seemed out of place for the kind of movie it was. This was a foray into the human mind in a realistic setting and Matrix-like special effects would have seemed completely out of place. Instead, the dream worlds created were cemented in reality and often times very gritty despite being computer generated. Even the more elaborate, eye-popping effects such as a city folding onto itself, gravity changing directions or the crumbling of a metropolis all match the situation perfectly and with a purpose to the storyline instead the storyline bending to an idea generated from a graphics studio.

This film is definitely now among one of the best I have seen. The special effects are amazing in quality. The psychological and philosophical storylines are amazing. The acting is great and the action sequences superb. The quality of the film from start to finish is astounding. And most importantly, I would be greatly tempted to categorize this movie overall as a drama, as opposed to action, for the magnificent writing and acting surrounding the storyline of Cobb in this film as it blows away the central character and plot for any action or special effects movie I have ever seen.