Claiming a Chris Nolan film disappoints is akin to the feeling an Oscar nominee must get when he doesn’t win the big award. So close. "Inception" is far from a bad movie; it is well-acted, thought-provoking, and has some incredible special effects work. Yet, the promise that "Inception" sparks at the beginning isn’t quite met when the film is finally resolved. Nolan as director likes to push the bounds of what a movie is supposed to be, squeezing in every last detail and twist into an already full plot. "Inception" may go a little too far plot-wise in the third act, leaving its audience adrift in brilliant concepts that don’t manage to land.
"Inception" stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt ("500 Days of Summer"), and Ellen Page ("Juno") as dream thieves in a world of the near-future. Secrets can be stolen out of people’s minds while they sleep, if the right person knows where to look. DiCaprio’s Cobb is hired to plant an idea into a powerful businessman’s head, something that is supposed to be impossible. Cobb has no choice but to do this last job if he ever hopes to return to his family. Yet, Cobb is haunted by the death of his wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard; "Public Enemies"), which affects his ability to focus in the dream world and may get his friends killed.
Nolan’s ability to create powerful visuals continues in this beautiful film. Whether it’s the zero gravity hallway fight, seeing a chair fall into water in slow-mo, or walking through a city that isn’t real, Nolan’s eye for the awesome is nearly unmatched. He also gets incredible performances out of his cast, which is probably why everyone in Hollywood lines up to star-or even get a tiny part-in one of his pictures. The performance to watch in "Inception" is Cotillard’s who is equally parts seductive and scary. She plays both the vulnerable wife and a dangerous, wronged woman. DiCaprio is more subdued in his performance as the lead, but he is more than adequate in the role. Another stand-out is Gordon-Levitt, who plays Cobb’s no-nonsense partner. Page is likeable as the new kid on the block in the dream world, but she doesn’t bring anything new to the role. Tom Berenger has a brief, memorable performance in the picture that is hard-to-explain without seeing the picture.
The first two acts are dramatic and exciting. Nolan pulls out performances reserved for a drama from his cast in this science-fiction thriller. The story is elaborate and well-told. The characters are intriguing and fun-to-watch. The third act’s gradually building finale becomes just too much to watch and fully comprehend. Comprehension needs to work both intellectually and emotionally. A director can lose an audience both by not properly explaining the story or by neglecting the emotional element of the film. By the end of the third act of "Inception," the story manages to do both to a minor extent. The excitement just can't maintain itself for that long in so many different places and keep the audience emotionally invested. It is an interesting exercise by Nolan, but it doesn't quite work. Nolan deserves credit for pushing beyond the normal boundaries of cinema and seeking to expand his audience’s minds. But that expansion of what motion pictures are capable of needs to be gradual or else Nolan will just leave the rest of us befuddled and unmoved in his dust.
Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout.
