'Inception'
Review: 5/5
"You're waiting for a train..." the existentially tormented idea-extractor Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is told in a dream by his late wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard, who will be nominated for an Oscar for this iconic role). But is it really a dream? Or is it reality? Is Mal actually dead? Is Cobb? What's the significance of the train? These are all questions viewers will likely be asking themselves when Christopher Nolan's highly intricate, riddle-wrapped within a puzzle-labyrinthian 'Inception' cuts to black. It's a cerebral visual achievement at the highest level - a film that defines a genre all its own, with deftly positioned pawns that manifest in the form of elegantly clad dream-inhabitants, all functioning under the strict command of Cobb; a self-proclaimed idea-thief of the highest order.
When corporate-magnate Saito (Ken Watanabe) recruits Cobb to perform the near impossible task of inception (planting an idea in someone's mind instead of stealing one), Cobb reluctantly accepts, pending an all-too-appealing promise made to him by Saito himself. Cobb will need the most efficient team, of course, and in a kind of avant-garde re-imagining of the heist genre, a frenzied Cobb quickly assembles the most capable group of idea thieves - the most interesting of which may be Ariadne (research the significance of the name prior to seeing the film), a college student studying architecture. The others include Yusef (a chemist), Eames (a forger) and Arthur, Cobb's right hand man. Together the group travels through various levels of dream territory, always attempting to avoid the presence of the seemingly evil Mal.
This dream-voyage necessitates astounding visual architecture. Stanley Kubrick, M.C. Escher, and Salvador Dali might be cited as influences for such an aesthetic feat. That these images only exist as service to the story, and are not arbitrarily included as mere 'eye candy,' is a credit to a highly detailed script (supposedly it took Nolan ten years to put the finishing touches on the multifaceted dream-inspired narrative), as well as exceptional execution by cinematographer Wally Pfister, and production designer Guy Dyas; you've never seen anything quite like it.
Best movie of the year, no doubt about it. A very interesting piece of film-making, since, the story is filled with holes, but the irony is, the holes are what make it work so great. A great example of turning your weakness into your greatest strength.
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