Review:
Inception

Inception is the latest film to be directed by Christopher Nolan, the man who last made waves in 2008 with The Dark Knight, a commercial and critical success which proved that it was possible to combine blistering action sequences with intelligent and mature story-telling without forfeiting box office dollars. Before The Dark Knight Nolan honed his skills on The Prestige - a dark, complex, and innovative big screen adaptation of the novel of the same name penned by Christopher Priest.

Inception is certainly Nolan’s most ambitious work to date, and it bears as much resemblance to The Prestige in terms of its complexity and its flaunting of cinematic convention and it does to The Dark Knight and its blockbuster action sequences. Like these last two films, Nolan shares a screenwriting credit with his brother Jonathon. Clearly this is a match made in heaven; one is almost envious of the quality and the quantity of great ideas generated by this partnership.

The genesis of Inception though has been shrouded by a great deal of mystery. Prior to the studio’s publicity engine cranking up a gear only a month or so ago hardly anything was known about the film other than it was a high-concept science-fiction story and that it starred Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role. The trailer when it was released was a montage of incredible visuals with cities curving into the sky and men in suits battling in zero gravity, but there was very little exposition. Having now seen the film, I can see why. It’s not just because the film’s story is very difficult to explain, but because a lot of the fun in seeing the film derives from the surprise value. This also makes it a difficult film to review – for people who averse to even minor spoilers I would recommend looking away now.

The film takes place on Earth in the near-future where a technology has been invented which allows an enterprising individual to enter a person’s subconscious through their dreams. The technology has a recreational use in allowing users to enter each other’s thoughts, but it can also be put to more nefarious purposes. The film in fact takes its title from the name given to the action of implanting an idea artificially into another person’s mind using this technology. Inception is described as the reverse of extraction, which is the process of taking (or stealing) information from another person’s subconscious. Both processes are deemed to be highly illegal, but highly profitable for those that are prepared to take the risk.