Two years ago. Summertime. Durham. I sat quietly in a darkened theater and was treated beyond my wildest expectations, thanks to the infinitely creative mind of Christopher Nolan and his team of movie geniuses, to one of the greatest, most entertaining and thrilling movie rides of my then 26 years. The Dark Knight, for me, was one of those oh-so-rare, 100% perfectly fulfilling movie experiences.
Two years later. Summertime. Marietta. And he's done it again. Christopher Nolan, working from his first completely original script and story idea since Following (1998), along with the majority of the same team from The Dark Knight, has delivered with Inception yet another perfectly crafted and marvelously entertaining film. As I sat in the theater yesterday watching this stunning story unfold, scene after scene, I found myself literally holding my breath and crossing my fingers in hopes that he could really do what it seemed he was doing…hitting another one out of the park. And now, as I sit here typing these words and reflecting back over the decade-long career that Nolan has crafted for himself since he gave us 2000’s masterfully told in reverse Memento, I realize that Inception is in all humbly-declared honesty, really more of a grand slam. Christopher Nolan is simply one of our greatest moviemakers working today.
When I went into the movie theater yesterday, I had already prepared myself, or my brain rather, to be ready to experience a very difficult-to-understand and confusing story. I was not going to be lost. Early reviews and on-the-street word-of-mouth had already negatively labeled the film with these descriptions, and I know that a lot of people are going to avoid seeing it for this very reason. I cannot stress this point enough: Inception is NOT too confusing. If you are a reasonably intelligent person, you will be able to follow the events depicted up on the screen. The story, in fact, is fairly simple and straightforward. It is the manner in which it unfolds, and the rules that apply to the dream state that add to the complexity, and for that matter, the entertainment value. And yet Nolan has tapped into some very basic ideas of dreams, the qualities of which we all have experienced for ourselves while dreaming, that will give much of the proceedings a feeling of familiarity to you as a viewer. The sensation of gravity or falling that often jolts one out of a dream state plays a key role in many of the movie’s most important scenes.
Now as I stated, the story is fairly simple and, in fact, follows the basic structure of a standard heist film. There is the idea or pitch; the gathering of the team; the set-up; and finally the actual heist or sting. If you can follow that, you can follow this story. Nolan adds two elements, however, that turn this into the most original heist movie you or I have ever seen. First, technology in a very near future allows for the ability of a man to enter another man’s dreams and steal a carefully guarded thought or idea. This alone would make the heist story a little more clever but not very. You would have a team stealing an idea rather than a painting, or a diamond, or a great deal of money. It is the second element, however, the element of “inception,” that turns the entire ordeal on its head, complicates the proceedings, and ultimately adds the masterstroke to this wonderful wonderful movie. I, of course, am not going to tell you what inception is, for fear of ruining the fun of finding out for yourself as you watch the movie.
I will tell you though that Nolan, in order to complement the story visually and energetically, has staged and directed some of the most thrillingly visceral action scenes brought to the screen in a very long time. The climax, in fact, that takes place over the final hour of the film, and across three levels of dreamscape, and during three different speeds of time is so perfectly calculated and staged…it is truly a marvel of timing and a triumph for Nolan as director that simply must be seen to be fully understood and appreciated. This is moviemaking at its absolute best.
Leonardo DiCaprio, in his second great role this year, gives one of his best performances and in so doing ultimately helps to elevate this movie into masterpiece territory. If Nolan as writer had simply left the story as a futuristic, dream world heist picture, he would have produced a very good and entertaining film worthy of our money and applause. However, his final stroke of genius, the one that raises Inception up from very good territory and into the rarely achieved heights of greatness is the inclusion of a literally intruding backstory for the DiCaprio character that adds the absolutely necessary element of humanity that all films must possess in order for us to completely buy into them. And it is DiCaprio’s performance in this role that encourages, maybe even demands that we the viewers not only like this character but want to see him succeed. We care about this character, and that alone earns our investment of time.
In a year filled with remakes and sequels and more of the same old thing, Christopher Nolan has stepped up to the plate and given us a genuinely original production. Inception is a terrific film. I highly recommend that you go and see it, for I can’t begin to imagine anything better coming along for quite some time.
The as-of-yet untitled Batman 3 is scheduled for a July 20, 2012 release date. With Nolan once again as director…I’ve already begun to hold my breath.
Until next week, here is my hope that we all find our Shangri-La. Good night.
