Brombergs 2 Cents

Inception: A Heavy Thinking Film



Posted: Thursday, August 26, 2010

by Brombergs 2 Cents

Inception is one of those great cocktail party discussion movies that make you think... which usually is a good thing. The problem with this film is that sometimes it makes you think too much and when people go to the movies, they really don't want to work their brains to a great extent.

Leonardo DiCaprio teams with director Chris Nolan (Momento, Dark Knight), and actors Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (I still think of him as the kid in 3rd Rock from the Sun), Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page (Juno), Tom Hardy, and Cillian Murphy (Scarecrow in the recent Batman movies).

The concept of this movie deals with dreams and as a writer, there is much poetic license to be had since in reality, we know very little about how dreams work. The idea that we might be able to go into someone's dream and steal an idea or potentially worse, plant an idea to make a person think it was their own, is fascinating and downright intriguing. Because we all have dreams and often have a hard time understanding them, I suppose a film about this subject should also be challenging to understand. The complexity of dreams is one can of worms that I can deal with… but a dream within a dream is asking a lot of an audience and, unfortunately, the film takes it to the limit with the idea of a dream within a dream within a dream. Can you wrap your brain around that? I doubt most people can, but I do value the writer's intent to provide heavy food for thought.

In many ways this film is the opposite of Sex and the City 2. SATC 2 celebrates everything women stereotypically have come to be in America … obsessed with clothes, diamonds, and men with large muscles and large genitals. Inception is everything a stereotypically mainstream movie is not. It is a film that is neither predictable nor formulaic. It will be a DVD that psych teachers across the globe might incorporate into their lesson plans for it stimulates the mind to ask very deep questions about our consciousness. While there are impressive special effects and action sequences in Inception, the movie is not the CGI lovefest that the Transformers or Pirates of the Caribbean movies have come to symbolize. The effects in Inception are purposeful, interesting, original, and not overblown.

The ending in Inception is ambiguous, which is sure to annoy many viewers who desire clear cut closure. Whether or not you like the story, DiCaprio's intense performance is one of his best and is yet another strong feather to put in his cap of character-driven roles. I have more respect for him for every movie I see him in because he continually seems to grow and mature which helps for complex roles such as this.

The scary thing about this movie is the possibility that this technology might one day be real. If we actually do have the power to go into someone's mind, this could be one of the most controversial topics we dive into since cloning. We all saw what problems could come out of cloning with the Schwarzenegger film The Sixth Day. Imagine what kinds of great or horrible things we could accomplish if we could go and poke around in your mind? Good lord. I smell a new Schwarzenegger film, by the way. I hope we continue to have movies that challenge us, that give us something to talk about for hours afterward with our family and friends. If you are going to spend 10 bucks at the cinema, you might as well get your money's worth by seeing a film that will stay with you for a long time. Inception, is such a movie. Go see it. 4 out of 4 stars.
Currently finishing up a masters degree in Communication Studies in Sacramento, Mike is an international award winning public speaker and avid fan of film, travel, and comedy. Tired of movie reviews full on summary and light on substance? Prefer a psychological perspective that attempts to shed insight and intrigue on little known or mainstream movies? Hopefully these articles will inform, enlighten, entertain, or at least stimulate curiosity in films young and old that find a relevant place in today's society. Thank you.

Mike's articles can be seen at: brombergsblog.com

This Article has been viewed 365 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Jennifer Stewart
 1 year 253 days ago.
152 fans.
You write a good review, without giving too much away. It piqued my interest.
» left by Brombergs 2 Cents 1 year 252 days ago.
14 fans.
Thanks Jennifer! It is my intention with my reviews to spark interest without giving away that much. Anyone can write about movies, but few people actually have something worth saying without resorting to plot summary. If you like, check out some of my other reviews. I just finished one about Pixar (Toy Story 3) that I am uploading today. Thanks for reading!
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.