Inception

Year: 2010
Writer: Christopher Nolan
Director: Christopher Nolan

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Ken Watanabe,Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine, Pete Postlethwaite, Lukas Haas

In the beginning there was speculation, and rumour, and down-right lies… then a few insider leaks, and a peak at the indescribable via a good teaser trailer. Fast-forward to July 2010, we finally get to view the much talked-about Inception, in all its glory.

A Sci-fi thriller set ‘within the architecture of the mind’ as the blurb puts it, with elaborate plot-line and all-star-cast, is a movie to behold. Two and a half hours of pure cinematic gold, care-of director Christopher Nolan whose last effort, The Dark Knight (2008), set its own rumour mill ablaze.

Inception’s basic premise, if you can call anything in this movie ‘basic’, is that it’s a heist movie, with endearing criminals and relentless authority, a love interest (Marion Cotillard), a big score, some retribution, and a daring escape across the border, but set in the subconscious. A sort of Ocean’s Eleven for the Sci-fi geeks.

Our main protagonist with a secret is Dom Cobb (let’s not dwell), played impeccably by Leonardo Di Caprio, who seems to get better and better with age. He’s the mastermind and draws up a team of ‘professionals’ for the next big job, at the behest of industrialist ‘Saito’ (Ken Watanabe). This contemporary rat-pack consist of Cobb’s business partner Arthur (a superb Joseph Gordon-Levitt), chemist Yusuf (Dileep Rao), a student of architecture Ariadne (Ellen Page), and a forger by the name of Eames (Tom Hardy).

The film is chock-full of great acting, but sadly we only get a glimpse or two of the superb Pete Postlethwaite, plus interesting turns by Cillian Murphy and Lucas Haas, not to mention a rather botoxed Tom Berenger, and of course… Sir Michael Caine.

To try to explain what is happening defeats the object, you really have to see the film, preferably on the big screen for its CGI is exactly that, big. However, there is a lot more going on here than meets the eye. Some of what you’ll see will look familiar, but stick with it and it will take you up a level or two. You’re thrown in the middle of a strange world. It’s up to you to grasp it with both cerebral hemispheres and hold on tight.

Don’t expect Inception to be the traditional/predictable fare, you may be looking for a big reveal, but what you see is literally what you get. It’s not for everyone, and the strange twisting tale may disappoint some. There are layers to dissect after the fact, and you’ll go away from this film with plenty to talk about, whether you liked it or not. It's best to sit back and relax, and try not to think too much.

“All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream”
Edgar Allan Poe