Christopher Nolan is one of those directors in which I have already seen most of his films, but typically just once years ago upon their first release. His revered 2010 film Inception is exactly one of these and while it is still an incredibly original and exciting movie, I actually find it to be one of his weaker films. Greatly outlived by the meme culture of the time and its puzzling reputation, this film is an endlessly fun thrill ride that, unfortunately, never seems to find its footing. Nolan, as much as it might pain me to say, thrives on order and even though his films have the tendency to stir minds and get people talking, there is a limit to what he can do in his filmmaking before it becomes unintelligible. This movie seems to be one of those stories and even though it is not that difficult to understand, the approach in his direction is far too messy for my taste. The chaotic energy of this movie might be a bit different than what Nolan usually tackles and while I do appreciate that, I just could not get myself to vibe with this as much as I hoped.
Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a specialist in removing bad things from peoples' minds and with the help of his dream-state technology, is instead hired by a CEO named Saito (Ken Watanabe) to plant an idea into the mind of rival Fischer (Cillian Murphy). In order to do so, he must reach down into three levels of dreaming, otherwise known as inception, and he gathers a team of the most skilled neuro-spies such as Eames (Tom Hardy), Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and Ariadne (Ellen Page) to pull it off. The premise behind this film is what really excites me more than anything. The idea of pulling off a mental heist by planting an idea in someone's head is so strange and creative: something that only Nolan could dream up and execute. There is no doubt that he is the best choice for writing and directing this film but I think that his idea greatly outweighed his execution. A story this ambitious takes a lot of focus in order to fluidly combine the plotlines and especially in this film, which takes place in multiple levels of reality. I found this movie to be so unnecessarily chaotic and while I am certain that was what Nolan was going for, I don't think it fits his style particularly well. Nolan is known for his solid, beautiful, direction and unforgettable technicals and I believe that the confusing nature of this movie muddles all of the best parts of his style. Despite all of this, Christopher Nolan is on another plane of criticism when it comes to filmmaking, as he is undoubtedly one of the best storytellers of our generation. A lesser Nolan film is still better than a great film by any other, cookie-cutter director and no matter the personal taste of someone, it is hard not to at least enjoy his stories to some degree.
I may have not been as on board with this story and its attempted emotional beats as much as I have been with Nolan's other features, but just like his other movies, it is nonetheless phenomenally well-made. The cinematography from Wally Pfister is extraordinary and his expansive use of the camera fits this story unbelievably well. The CGI and visual effects utilized throughout this movie also help Pfister to tell its visual story incredibly well. Some of this movie's most memorable and jawdropping scenes include the city streets turning over on themselves and some of the illusions that are utilized by the characters. These scenes themselves helped to make this deceptive world so entrancing and there is no doubt that this movie has still stood the test of time as being awe-inspiring. Hans Zimmer's score is once again amazing, and even though his use of bass and droning atmospheres has become an almost trademark, it suits Nolan's filmmaking better than any other composer honestly could. The performances from the whole cast are also solid and while I don't think any of them are entirely known for their performances in this film (the entire cast are much better in other films), they take what they are given and run with it very well. The entire cast, from DiCaprio to Hardy to Page, are all fantastic performers and they fit in with this action-packed world incredibly well. I would really love to see more group films like these made today with such a loaded cast and original script because this has proven to be one of the best. This movie is really such a grand technical achievement and all of those parts are what really stood out to me more than anything. Inception has every element that makes a Nolan film a Nolan film and has proven itself more than worthy of its visual, critical acclaim.
Inception has become such a widely used term for the levels of mental confusion that it is almost laughable and honestly, good for this film for inspiring such a facet of our culture. I can not say much about the rest of it, however, and even though I do think this is a fun and exciting movie, I much prefer Nolan in a completely different kind of element. There is no doubt that this movie will be discussed and referenced until the end of time, and rightfully so, but they can have it. I'll stick to my Interstellar.
My Rating: ★★★½
No comments:
Post a Comment