Inception

You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling. 15th anniversary rewatch of what was an instant favourite, in 35mm. It’s always interesting to return to different moments of Nolan’s career, and Inception just never seems to get old. The pacing is immaculate (to me), Pfister’s methodical photography is an interesting contrast to Hoytema’s mastery of IMAX 15/70mm, and the visuals have aged far better than its contemporaries. It sometimes is tiring to be an Inception fan, just as is it is to be Nolan fan - a product of the director’s mainstream success, and the reputation of the detractors and die-hards that accompany it. His particular brand of accessible, populist filmmaking enjoyed by film bros, general audiences and critics alike (with the exception of TDKR and Tenet), resulted in a wave of copycats while spawning an insufferable, pretentious fanbase. Inception, too, is cinema for the masses disguised as a movie for intellectuals. Certainly, I am the first to admit that the success of The Dark Knight trilogy resulted in studio execs who learned all the wrong lessons for blockbuster releases and comic book adaptations. In fact there’s not enough talk about how much Nolan has influenced Nolan, and how much a film like Tenet borrows from Inception (it very much plays out like an even more inferior, albeit slightly more technically impressive version of this film). While I can respect and understand the criticisms I’ve seen directed at Inception, I’ll never not be entertained by how proficient Nolan’s structuring, and editing is on this film. Inception is so refined in its construction, and effective in its deliverance of its lofty, ambitious ideas in a way that never ceases to lose momentum. On rewatches, beyond Nolan’s thorough understanding of spectacle (some of the best, most face-melting set-pieces of his career are in a 15-year-old film, it has a lot of what Tenet lacks), its easier to realise just how effective his sporadic uses of humour are. Inception is a film that is not overtly self-aware, but is still comfortable in the outlandish nature of its premise (it makes light of how professional and hyper-realistic Nolan’s idea of dreams and imagined realities are, in ways that aren’t as pronounced in his other films). I’d argue that his newest releases consist of an air of self-seriousness that prevents the communication of how fun and silly the ideas of a lot of films are. You can make the argument that Inception is not a particularly gorgeous-looking film, but I find its aesthetic sensibilities appealing. Beyond the surface level observations of Nolan’s fascination with chronology, and his preoccupation with non-linear storytelling, some of these visuals are exactly the kind of things only a guy like Nolan would consider a riveting idea of a dream. From the meticulousness in the way this film cut, to how clear and simplistic the motivations of the ensemble cast of characters are, I just love the world-building on display here from the opening shot. As you mature you begin to realise the initially convoluted storytelling is purely a vehicle for Nolan to be having a narrative justification to consistently cross-cut between simultaneous action sequences, and the film is all the better for it. So effective that whether I’m seeing it in theaters or on television, I’m just as engrossed as I was seeing it for the first time. Leonardo DiCaprio’s Dom Cobb is tethered to a prison of his own making, he spends his days getting paid to secure trade secrets and intelligence procured from the subconscious of their target’s dreams, plagued by projections of a dark past. The idea that Cobb’s prior experiences with the practice of inception being responsible for his tragic circumstances is telegraphed very early on, but in forgoing a traditional plot twist reveal, the emotional catharsis of Cobb accepting partial accountability for his past, is just as effective. While this is something he acknowledges as a means to feel pity for himself, it is only through his confrontation of it, initiated by Ariadne, is he able to complete the “anti-heist”, the planting of the idea. Nolan’s hilariously accurate vision of broken male protagonists who would rather engage in illicit corporate espionage and mind-reading instead of going to therapy, the fragility and instability of the fabrications we construct in our heads - the inherent philosophical basis of Inception proposes fairly universal dilemmas. Quite personally, I think manipulating dreams to repress memories is far more enticing than paying for therapy. While there are countless video essays and think-pieces theorising and explaining the mumbled lines of exposition, and the science-fiction mechanics of Inception - there are far less examples of write-ups focused on Cobb’s actual guilt, his constant desire to escape from reality being responsible for the tragedy that chased him away from his children. In analyzing Inception, it is often distilled down into its rudimentary tropes, but in doing so it is a disservice to what is one of Nolan’s most evocative screenplays about the mundanities and anxieties that plague our reality, disrupting our ability to be involved in the present. On every rewatch, the idea that Cobb is one of Nolan’s strongest characters is solidified given how responsible he is for the harrowing trajectory of his own life. The exiled Cobb is depicted with enough nuance that despite never directly admitting it, Cobb must reconcile with the consequences of his own making - as much as the script seems to absolve of him of that responsibility or diminish his accountability. Inception is unique in that it is not entirely about grief or loss, but also a very human exploration of desire, repentance and remorse. If reality is indistinguishable from fantasy, is it worth risking it all to know for certain? Don't you want to take a leap of faith? Or become an old man, filled with regret, waiting to die alone. Biggest unrelated takeaway this time was perhaps that Leo needs to star in more sci-fi and action films, and with the abundance of “jump scare”-like audio cues in this one, that Nolan needs to do a fully fledged psychological horror film, beyond the thriller genre. Also, still not quite sure what happened to Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s casting choices? You would think he would be a far bigger name after this and Looper, but he rarely seems to be on my radar in terms of blockbusters anymore. I really should get around to seeing more heist films and also Paprika.