Friday, September 10, 2010

A Dream Within a Dream Within a Dream Within a...

Dom, Arthur, Ariadne, Eams, Yusuf: each with their own talent, the team to call if one is in need of extracting highly confidentional information from the dream world. They live at a time when the world has developed technology to monitor the information contained within one's dreams and take what is useful for personal, corporate, and political benefit.



Inception is a masterpiece. Christopher Nolan's victory project. A breath of fresh air in the era of the made-for-money-sequels.



Cobb (DiCaprio), an expert in the field of dream extraction, meets Ariadne (Page), a prodigy architecture student, recruiting her to work as the builder of dreams. He does this after being approached for a high risk, elaborate job to implant an idea into the mind of the competition of a certain company powerhouse. The process of implanting such an idea, inception, is much harder than extraction, as it is necessary to make sure the mind of the dreamer believes he has come up with the added information all on his own. Cobb walks Ariadne through the world of dream creation (literally) where the viewer is treated to a picture of Paris streets positioned on all sides of the dreamer, explosions of fruit from local vendors, and mirror images of bridges and waterways. It is creation in raw form and my heart not only swoons for the images Ariadne moves across the screen, but applauds Nolan for the thankful glimpse into the mind of a visionary.

Along for the ride are Arthur, Cobb's right hand man, Yusuf, a chemist, and Eames, a forger. The team creates a dream within a dream within a dream in order to ensure that the information for inception is implanted deep within the mind. We find out that Cobb accepts such a risky job offer because he is forbidden to enter the United States due to an apparent misunderstading in the death of his wife. Meanwhile he longs to return home to the children he has not seen in years. The dream they create is elaborate and as they hit some snags on the way it becomes even more intricate. The details that Mr. Nolan thought up to make such a dream world believable are fabulous: the time difference in the real world from each level of dream, the experiences affecting the real world that work their way into a dream, an experience of searing pain needed in order to stir one from sleep. I could watch this movie again and again for the excitement of these details. He takes us on a thrillride and where he leaves us we may not even know.

While the character development is good, it's not the meat of the production. The characters are interesting and desireable to watch, but Nolan's inventiveness and artistic brilliance in story and overall product deserve recognition. The acting standout in my opinion is Marion Cotillard, who plays Mal, the pleading and desperate wife of Cobb.

Overall, I loved it.

****/****

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