Inception

INCEPTION (12)

D: Christopher Nolan

Warner Bros./Legendary/Syncopy (Emma Thomas & Christopher Nolan)

US 2010

142 mins

Science Fiction/Action/Thriller

W: Christopher Nolan

DP: Wally Pfister

Ed: Lee Smith

Mus: Hans Zimmer

PD: Guy Hendrix Dyas

Leonardo DiCaprio (Dom Cobb), Ken Watanabe (Saito), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Arthur), Ellen Page (Ariadne), Marion Cotillard (Mal Cobb), Tom Hardy (Eames), Cillian Murphy (Robert Michael Fischer), Tom Berenger (Peter Browning), Michael Caine (Prof. Stephen Miles), Pete Postlethwaite (Maurice Fischer)

Inception is one of those films where the less you know about it, the more you are rewarded, so if you've yet to see this picture stop reading now... Christopher Nolan's works often have a subplot of "the duality of man" from his breakthrough film, Memento, and throughout his revitalisation of the Batman franchise, all his films touch on the fragility of one's psyche and with this "dream thriller", the director-writer has truly outshone himself with what is arguably the best movie of 2010.

Set in the near future, dream thief Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) makes a living through the illegal activity of breaking into the minds of CEO businessmen, stealing their companies secrets to sell to rivals.

Wanted on US soil, he plies his trade mostly in Europe and Asia, and is hired by a Japanese businessman who wants a rival's business to fold, asking the question "Is Inception possible?", can the rival businessman have the idea put in his head to dissolve his business.

What follows is a deeply complex, intricate storyline involving the navigation of people's minds through the subconscious. It may be a little too complicated for some people to easily follow, but the films begs to be watched more than once, whether it could be understood on its initial viewing or not. The style is rich on intelligent references to conceptual art (Esher) and labyrinthine mythology (Ariadne) and has production values par excellence, rich photography, faultless visual effects, haunting music from composer Hans Zimmer and clever use on the soundtrack of Edith Piaf's timeless song "No Regrets."

I, unfortunately, have one regret, and that is that I didn't experience this cinematic marvel on a bigger screen. The bigger, the better. A true modern classic which must be experienced.

10/10