Inception

I recently caught myself reading my own reflections of some choice movies I posted about last year. I was delighted to rediscover the insight I’d had on them; so having seen a couple of good films lately, hopefully I’ll continue the trend.

As I posted almost twelve months ago, while I’ll try and keep this entry spoiler free it is definitely better to read it after you’ve seen the movie in question and formed your own view of the film.

In my review of the Soloist last year I commented that while I don’t mind a good thinking man’s film I usually prefer them to be interlaced with a couple of explosions and some exciting action sequences. Enter: Inception.

While I don’t consider myself a film geek, as I rarely know the director of a film when walking into the cinema. If I’m particularly inspired by an idea or enjoyable film I’ll often crave more of its back story. This is a pretty simple venture in today’s world with the internet and sites like IMDB and enthusiast podcasts etc. It turns out that Inception is directed by one of the more critically acclaimed talents in the industry today. Nick Nolan is rapidly becoming a household name, directing the two latest Batman movies as well as Memento to name a small sample of his back catalogue.

Upon reflection it becomes obvious that Inception is directed by a gifted film maker, some of the action scenes in the middle of the film are brilliantly original, no mean feat in cinematography these days. I also found the pacing to be extremely well staged with clever - tried and true - storytelling tricks injected to keep the audience as well informed of the story as required. I can’t say the story isn’t completely void of plot holes but sometimes I think these are purposefully positioned to let the audience interpret it themselves – much like a cryptic line in a the words to an emotional song.

I was also pretty offended by the ending of the film; I read it described as “a fifty/fifty bet each way by the director”. I tend to agree with this as some in the audience would have liked to be told the story ended one way, and the other potion of the audience would anticipate the other. The film simply refused to confirm either, creating its own social networking buzz among patrons that have viewed it.

I’ve formed my own opinion but still feel slightly robbed that it wasn’t expressed in full by the film itself. It’s the storyteller’s story to define the ending … not mine.

At the end of the day Inception is an easy movie to recommend to others, and I even look forward to my eventual re-unrevealing of its mysteries when I watch it anew …