You Spin Me Right Round….
Last night I got home from Inception and wanted to write this right away, but I decided not to because it would have been completely incoherent. I would have tried to say too much at one time.
I have digested and am ready to write about it.
Christopher Nolan has completely cemented himself as the best filmmaker of what I am going to call the smart action movie. Films that are equal part spectacle and mind bending.
I will start off by making a statement that I do not believe is hyperbole though it may seem like it. I have not been more mentally engaged in a film in a long time. That is what the complicated plot does for Nolan, because it is more complicated then usual it forces the viewer to engage in a way that they are not familiar with. It is truly a unique experience, something especially unique in mid July.
That being said, although the plot is complicated, I did not feel like the film was as hard to follow as it is being made out to be. It is complicated and unfamiliar, but if you let yourself into that world fully, it all makes sense and flows rather nicely actually. (There is one major inconsistency that bothers me that I need to talk to someone about though) I am by no means saying you can be passive and understand, I’m just saying with all the talk of how confusing it is, I did not find it that way. Now being able to follow it may just be a product of years of nerding it up, partaking in many many sci fi films and philosophical theories and being somewhat used to that type of thinking.
The action part of Inception is equally awe inspiring. For about the last hour of this film there is so much happening you cannot get of the edge of your seat, literally. I hate that cliche but this is the case it is true, I could not lean back in my seat until near the end.
I wish more people made films like Christopher Nolan, not just because I wish more directors wanted to engage their audience the way he does, but because he is one of the few directors (along with the Coen Brothers and maybe Clint Eastwood) who fully embrace Neo-Noir. Noir has always been my favorite style of film and it always excites me. The style was pulled off beautifully in the film, and is just as strong as the plot.
Now comes my only issue, which normally would be a huge issue, but because of the strength of everything else, it was not the detriment it would be for other films. Although the performances were great, especially by Dicaprio, the characters were not very, if at all, engaging. You discovered very little about the characters and were instead shown, which naturally makes you less interested in them just as having to discover things about this plot make you more interested in it. Although normally this would bother me enough to make me not like a film, this film is obviously plot-driven and not character-driven and I can accept and embrace that in this case.
Although I would recommend everyone watch this film, it is not for everyone. Some people won’t like it, and that is fine. Unfortunately this is the perfect example of a film that will have a very strong following that will automatically call someone who doesn’t like it stupid or shallow, but people look for different things in films and there is nothing wrong with that.
I’m excited to watch this film again, and if you have not seen it yet, see it so we can talk about it.
9/10
