Inception: Is The Dream The Reality or Is The Reality A Dream?!!

Tile: Inception (PG-13)

Year: 2010

"Dreams feel real while we are in them. Its only when we wake up that we realize something was strange..."

I think I am in love with this movie. This is a very captivating movie which is slickly edited and directed. I don't want to hype this movie too much, but this movie is truly the best film in this year by far, and one of the best of this decade. Christopher Nolan is one of my favourite directors and Leonardo Di Caprio is also one of my favourite actors. I cannot believe that this incredible actor gets snubbed at the Oscars year after year even after doing so many amazing movies. Anyway, the idea for the creation of this movie is not exactly new. I have seen some movies which take place inside the subconscious mind, but Inception pushes the boundary to a whole new level. There are three levels; a dream, within a dream, within a dream which is a whole new concept and it was exciting. For every 5 minutes in the real world, it is an hour in the first level dream state, a week in the second level and some decades in the third level. The film scores some brownie points for the concept itself. My friends and me were captivated by the world of dreams. The great background score along with the taut screenplay was spectacular.

Cobb (Leonardo Di Caprio) is the best at what he does and the US government is wary of his skills for which it has made him an international fugitive. Cobb isn't your normal skilled thief, he is the best in the dangerous art of extraction, that is he delves deep into your subconscious mind while you are asleep and steals valuable secrets. This rare superior ability of Cobb has made him a coveted player in the immoral world of corporate espionage. During one of his normal extraction jobs, he cannot uncover the secret that a corporate leader, Saito (Ken Watanabe) is hiding. Saito offers him his life back in USA with his children if he does one last job for him; Inception. Planting an idea in the human mind is a far more dangerous job than extraction, but Cobb accepts and assembles a group of talented players to pull off this mission. Ariadne (Ellen Page) is the new comer and her job is to design the world in the dream, as the previous guy isn't exactly available and Cobb himself has took himself out from designing. Mal Cobb (Marion Cotillard) keeps ruining Cobb's perfect dream plans and there seems to be a dark secret which nobody know. Cobb could potentially destroy their lives if he cannot control his memories and dreams.

When Christoher Nolan announced that he would put Batman on the back burner and make this movie with Di Caprio, I was really disappointed because although I am a fan of Di Caprio, I loved the new Batman franchise under the direction of Nolan. It was darker, more intense and definitely more exciting, and I wanted the third part to be made soon. If you have seen the trailers for Inception, you know that it doesn't explain much about the plot. But it looked stunning and I went along for Nolan's ride, being a willing participant. I was blown away and most of you will be too if you would be willing to accept the plot. To write a dream is difficult in this era when most of the stories out there are just rehashed versions of the same story. Somebody should try to follow in Nolan's great footsteps, because we need more filmmakers like him who aren't afraid to blast away the boundaries and create their own benchmark. This movie will be remembered and hailed for generations to come.

Some movies make you think deeper even after you finish watching it and this is definitely one of them. Tom keeps on dreaming that one day he will be able to return to his home and live with his children in reality. But the boundary between dream and reality is blurring. Marion Cotillard's scenes were gripping and my heartbeat was racing when she was on the window sill. The English guy gave the light hearted moments in the movie which I liked. The movie takes us through a roller coaster ride, oscillating between dream and reality and sometimes I was left wondering whether the events were taking place in someone's dream or in reality. Christopher Nolan has displayed some excellent film-making techniques and come up with a story that is intelligent as well as exciting. The performances are great across the board and I am truly hoping that Leo Di Caprio gets an Oscar nod this time around (Two back to back amazing movies from him - Shutter Island and Inception, Oscar is way overdue for him). The supporting cast of Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard, Dileep Rao, Michael Caine were great. Di Caprio headed the group on his able shoulders and doesn't disappoint. Three cheers to the master director, Christopher Nolan.

My rating: *****/*****