Inception (2010)

The movie Inception released in 2010 is not only a regular blockbuster by the undoubtedly talented director Christopher Nolan, but also something brand new in the whole world of cinema. By now it crowns the brilliant list of such movies as Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige and The Dark Knight directed by Nolan.

In various sources Inception is referred to as one of the best movies ever shot. Some critics consider that Inception has parallels with The Matrix and Shutter Island, but it's quite clear that Nolan has gone far beyond the bounds of The Matrix and other movies of the genre. He made a psychological experiment with the audience, with the actors and with himself as well. Watching Inception for the second or for the 10th time and trying to discover its hidden layers you suddenly begin to face the shocking reality: there's no tangible boundary between dreams and real life. This idea frightens, it can make a person go mad, but it is by all means fascinating. Do you remember Dom Cobb's words that an idea is the most tenacious parasite? The movie proves these words better than anything.

The plot of Inception revolves around the idea of manipulations with the information stored in subconsciousness while a person is dreaming. Dominic Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a professional thief specializing in extracting information from people's mind. Due to his illegal activity he is wanted in the USA and is devoid of possibility to see his children. One day Saito, a successful Japanese businessman (Ken Watanabe), proposes Cobb to perform not an extraction, but an inception process, which has not been done before. Though this venture is too risky Cobb has to agree, because Saito promises he will be able to reunite with his children.

One of the heroes of another Nolan's masterpiece - The Prestige - said that the secret itself is nothing, but the trick it is based upon is the most important thing. This paradox is actually the essence of Nolan's style of creation. Inception is a very stylish, impressive and conceptually perfect work. The concept even eclipses the acting a little. Actually the actors could have made a number of serious blunders without being noticed. However they played pretty good. Leonardo DiCaprio with the same charming fringe which had brought him the world's love after the Titanic is now a mature and serious dramatic actor. Among his latest works one can find such successful projects as Shutter Island, The Departed and Inglorious Basterds which are speaking for themselves. Marion Cotillard, who performs Cobb's late wife living in his subconsciousness, deserves particular attention. Sharp, tragic, piercingly beautiful, wearing exaggeratedly dramatic clothes - Mal is the most vivid part of Cobb's dreams.

As well as the dreams built by Cobb's team, Inception itself has many layers – psychological, symbolical and even mythological. For example, the name of Ariadne, the architect of the labyrinths (Ellen Page), is an allusion to the heroine of an ancient Greek legend. The girl named Ariadne gave her beloved a thread which helped him find the way out of a complicated labyrinth. It is also very symbolic that Cobb's father is played by Michael Caine, who had played the leading role in The Magus of 1968, another intellectual movie-puzzle revolving around psychological experiments. Inception is by all means a film to be watched several times, because each time you will discover new hints and allusions in it.

In general, Inception produces the impression of a very complicated and accurate mechanism. However, it's practically impossible to predict what is going to happen next. Christopher Nolan has successfully broken fresh ground in the sci-fi genre.