I generally start off my movie post headers with either a review or a discussion in the title. I am not sure if that's appropriate to say about Inception. Thoughts! Ideas! A single thread of inspiration! That's how all great things start right? As Arthur says in the movie, "True inspiration can never be faked!".
As I drove back from the premiere show this morning, I found myself thinking, discussing, debating with myself on plot points, agreeing with some, disagreeing with others, till at some points I just threw out whole theories as to why certain things happened the way they did. My head hurt, trying to analyze what i had just witnessed. What was it about the movie? What were the ideas that I was debating about? Why was I still thinking about them? Why was it that at certain points I felt overwhelmed by the sheer impact of what I was witnessing onscreen? And then as I woke up from a deep afternoon slumber ( still dreaming about Inception.... ), I came to the conclusion that Christopher Nolan has perhaps created the most challenging narratives on screen. Memento lovers will still be scratching their heads after watching this one. If you thought Memento was complex, then this one will make it look as simple as a straight line ( which it was anything but ). The narrative complexities of Inception is so deep, that I possibly cannot form an opinion regarding whether it was good or bad or assign scores like other reviews just after one viewing. And trust me, you NEED to watch this a few times to truly begin to understand the nuances of this movie. Make no mistake though, Inception is not perfection, as much as you may hope it to be. I am pretty sure it still has it's flaws. But perhaps that's where the beauty lies about Inception. Its not in the perfection that you marvel at, but the imperfections in the edges that draws you into the movie, just as the imperfections impact the descending dream layers in a domino effect in the movie. Is this a masterpiece? Yes and No. Its a masterpiece in terms of storytelling and juggling of narrative structure. And no because I don't know if it can be heralded as one so early into it's public appreciation. Is this Nolan's best yet? I don't know. It could be. It very well is a culmination of Nolan's previous works. It's almost like Nolan had been learning all along for the past decade since he started film making and this is it's grandest scale portrayal. But I will tell you what it is though. It is perhaps the single most important film to be made in it's times - a movie so challenging in it's concept, so daringly original in it's take on a seemingly old theme and applying it so brilliantly on a summer blockbuster canvas, that it will forever go down as the riskiest venture taken by a director and a studio since probably Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. I finally realize now why a number of trade publications have put forth this comparison since the reviews of Inception started pouring in. Even I wasn't conscious of the comparison than probably while typing the last line.
Well, those are my thoughts on the movie as a whole. If one had to pick apart and review the movie in a general term, then it's safe to say that this is the most cerebral summer blockbuster ever created. Acting is top notch. Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon Levitt steal the show. All the supporting actors bring in their A-game which makes it a treat to watch as the dynamics of the characters rub off each other. Effects are mind-blowing and amazing. The zero-gravity action sequence in the hotel will go down as one of the most stunning action set pieces since the climactic battle between Neo and Agent Smith in the Matrix. And talk about editing, woww!! Just woww!! How they managed to edit 3-4 levels of parallel subconsciousness into one single narrative timeline that extends for nearly the entire climactic final hour will remain a mystery to me!
In short, my dear Sirs and Madames, Inception is the most baffling, challenging and yet the most powerfully moving film you will have witnessed in recent times. Oh, and in case you haven't noticed, I didn't even talk about the storyline of the film. That's because the joy of discovering Inception lies in the journey. Watch it, see it, experience it and keep on thinking about it!!
