Friday, July 16, 2010
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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
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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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