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Friday, July 16, 2010

MOVIE REVIEW
Inception
When Your Mind Applies Its Make-Up In Another's Dreams


Joseph Gordon Levitt (left) and Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom in "Inception", directed by Christopher Nolan.   The film opened at midnight this morning across the U.S. and Canada.  
Warner Brothers                                                                                                                   
by Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com        Follow popcornreel on Twitter FOLLOW
Friday, July 16, 2010

Ambitious, original, well-conceived yet disappointing, "Inception" marks a slip on the proverbial banana peel for Christopher Nolan, a remarkable filmmaker whose execution and tightly-coiled scripts have cemented him as one of the best directors around.

"Inception" has a great brain-teasing premise: intercept the dreams of dreamers to extract information that will ultimately save a thief of thoughts, one Dominick Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio).  Cobb is haunted by alternately jarring and bucolic visions of his wife Moll (Marion Cotillard) and their two children.  To erase his fugitive crime status, Cobb is given the chance to mastermind a series of dream-stealing, rearranging and implanting of events of the targeted subjects, which includes a millionaire's son.  The dreams must be invaded only at their very beginning, and in the depths of the sleeping subjects' subconscious states -- a challenge for sure.

And this venture is a challenge for Mr. Nolan, who may have put more on his plate than even he can handle with this layered but languishing spectacle.  He brings the ideas to the table but executing them coherently on a grand canvas is another story.  That said, much of what will attract audiences to "Inception" are its visual effects, arguably one of its most appealing aspects.  The effects and the story however, wears thin on the audience.  

The film's international cast isn't bad, particularly Ellen Page, whose comic timing as a "dream architect" is welcomed in a vehicle that mainly stays true to the seriousness and intensity of its director.  And there's a likeness, even mild resemblance, between the lead star Mr. DiCaprio, and Mr. Nolan, in both phenotype and pedigree: slicked-back dirty blond hair, angular faces, similar builds, intensity and a drive to achieve perfection on the big screen.  The film is a perfect match for both men, and while "Inception" is highlighted by great production design, its biggest let-downs are its epic running time and a thundering score bordering on pretension.

"Inception" suffers fatigue just after the 90-minute-mark.  Much of the intriguing drama requires careful attention -- which is a good thing -- but what we see isn't compelling enough to hold our interest.  What the director has imagined and devised is riveting and fascinating on paper but lacks on celluloid.  The end result is a stagnant, oddly distant film.  "Inception" tries to outdo itself, and in doing so gets lost in its own brilliant ideas.  Thankfully, "Inception" provides minimal gimmickry in terms of gadgets one may expect to see here, although overall viewers of "The Matrix" and numerous other sci-fi films may shout, "rip-off!"

So much of what Mr. Nolan depicts very well on film -- illusion, memory and sensory deprivation ("The Prestige", "Memento", "Insomnia") -- are lost here in a maze of special effects.  Would less explanation and a shorter running time have galvanized me as a viewer?  Absolutely.  I'm not sure a second viewing of "Inception" will make the story clearer or more appreciable.  Those who love this film will see it again, those who don't will see another selection at the local theater. 

For some, "Inception" will be misery.  For others, it will be a masterpiece.  The divisions are usually a sign a director has done the right thing.  Mr. Nolan's influences here include Michael Mann, with precise, well-dressed dream ciphers adept at their trade.  (The suits are unmistakable, as are one or two of the action sequences.)

You have to admire Mr. Nolan's audaciousness in taking on a new, yet not-so-new realm of dreams for the big screen.  In this trek he makes it about halfway across the bridge before the structure begins to wobble and shake.  Mr. DiCaprio has already trodden the path of dream and illusion this year, with "Shutter Island".  Mr. Nolan's new film could well prove as divisive as Mr. Scorsese's latest.

All in all, when the very last moment of "Inception" finally arrives, you get the feeling Mr. Nolan has utilized one magic trick too many.

With: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine.

"Inception" is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association Of America for sequences of violence and action throughout.  The film is also playing in IMAX in select theaters.  The film's running time is two hours and 28 minutes.

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