in·cep·tion (n-spshn) n. The beginning of something, such as an undertaking; a commencement. See Synonyms at origin.
The caption above is the Oxford English dictionary's meaning of the word Inception. Ignore it, as it has no bearing on how to understand or decipher this roller coaster script.
Director Christopher Nolan, follows on from his hugely successful Dark Knight to give us his best movie and most complex movie since 2000's Memento. Dom (Leo DiCaprio) is a thief who steals the thoughts/secrets from the human mind through dream invasion to benefit him financially. It's clear at first that Dom is a tortured sole carrying a huge burden on his shoulders and it soon becomes clear why!
He is given a final chance to return to his native America and be re-united with his two young children. In exchange for this, he must pull off one last job - an Inception. Dom knows he cannot achieve it alone so he puts together a team of talented individuals for this enigmatic heist.
His team is a stellar cast including the brilliant brit actor and one to watch out for - Tom Hardy, Ellen 'Juno' Page, Joseph Gordon Levitt and our very own Cillian Murphy. There is also a return to mainstream screen for the 'very badly aged' Tom Berenger.
Each of the team has a key role in Dom's mission ranging from solving mathematical riddles to cloning. I shouldn't really compare Inception to other movies as it is quite unique but think Ocean's Eleven meets Existenz.
Marion Cottilard is wonderfully eerie as Dom's estranged wife. Although, why Edith Piaf's No Regrets is used as the gang's wake up call throughout the movie is lost on me considering Cottilard's recent Oscar winning portrayal as Piaf. More corny than irony!
The dream sequence's in the movie are stunningly novel and the action is relentless. DiCaprio has had a busy year and must be rightly confused from enduring so many flashback and dream scenes in both Shutter Island and this movie.
There is no doubting that Inception will go down as the most innovative movie this year and has definitely given us movie lovers something to marvel about this Summer in light of all the disappointing blockbusters that we had to endure. It is a gem of a film and Nolan and the cast deserve all the accolades they receive.
Apparently the script took 8 years to write and it shows, as at times it seems over thought and self indulgent. There are scenes depicting dreams within dreams which although are clever, are also unnecessary and result in the viewer incurring excessive confusion.
These are minor gripes in what is an overall stunning cinematic experience!
Score: 8/10
