Although it's pretty obvious from the title of this blog post, let's make one thing clear: If you read this post, it will spoil the entire movie for you. I will be referring to crucial twists and reveals that occur during the plot and explaining in detail what I believe happens in the very last scene. So, if you have yet to see Inception, avoid this at all costs.
One of the main themes that is raised in Christopher Nolan's newest release, Inception, is that we can never be sure just what reality is. Is what we are living in right now actually real or is it just a projection that he been created by our mind? When we dream, is that, in fact, our reality? And knowing all of this, do we just accept what we see before us and take it as reality or do we choose to question it?
Mal, the main character's wife, is the catalyst that introduces this theme to us. Her and Dom spent so long living in their imagination - a world where they could create anything and live as Gods - that she lost sight of what was real and what was just a dream. Therefore, she questioned the idea that the reality we are shown in the film is actually real. For example, she tells Dom during one flashback that her kids in the 'real world' are just projections while the ones in their 'dreams' are in fact the real ones. Racked with this kind of confusion, she killed herself before the movie's events take place.
Mal appears throughout Inception as a projection of Cobb's similar confusion. Her character is the villain of the piece, constantly trying the drag Cobb away from 'reality' and into his 'dreams' where they can live together forever and where, she believes, that they belong. Therefore, Cobb must be asking himself very much the same questions that she did before her death and this is confirmed during the film's final action scene when he confronts her.
Dom Cobb is portrayed as a tormented, troubled hero and so the audience believes that he is simply confused. But, then, we reach the movie's climax: He returns home to his children and, while Cobb's father is calling out to the kids to tell them their Dad is back, he decides to check whether this is definitely reality or not by spinning his totem. The totem will continue to spin if it's a dream and will drop if it's reality. As it spins, his children rush over to Dom and hug him and Cobb leaves the spinning top to take them outside. This shows that Cobb, like the rest of us, is just happy to accept that this is reality because he's content with what he has there. But, before we see the top fall, the film cuts to black.
At first, I saw this as a metaphor for how we can never really be sure what reality is. But, 24 hours later, that image still haunts me. After all, the children had not aged since Cobb's last memory of them before he left and they were wearing what appears to be the exact same clothing. Moreover, if it was reality, then how come the grandmother who was looking after the children was not there? Instead, Cobb's father picked them up for the airport. So, therefore, this all could just be a projection of his memory as Cobb must've been in the airport before when he left and the main people who are there are the ones that he had encountered during his criminal work.
Most of all though, I kept coming back to the scene where Saito interrupts a shaken Dom from confirming he's in reality with his totem. Surely, this scene carries some importance. Perhaps, like what I said before, it's there just to provide some thought about what reality actually is. But as he never actually sees the result of the spinning top, we are forced to ask ourselves whether he's in a dream or not. We do see the result of the spinning top early in the film when he's in the warehouse. But is there an event between the two scenes in which Dom could have died? Maybe when our hero is chased through the streets by hired agents of a company he betrayed?
In addition to that point, there's also a line early on when Dom tells Adrianne that you should always keep your totem to yourself. It's never made clear why that is, but it's certainly an important part of distinguishing reality from dream. However, like Arthur says in the second level of Inception, Cobb does a lot of things that he says you shouldn't. One of these appears to be the use of Mal's totem. Is it reliable if it isn't his? How then do we ever know if it's a dream or if it's real?
Regardless of whether it's just a metaphor or whether you believe Dom's reality may not be real, it's impossible to deny that Nolan has crafted one of the most memorable last moments in the history of cinema that will be debated and argued about my audiences, critics, fans and haters alike for years to come.
2 comments:
It was real. He was just doing shit to mess with ya.
I do love the whole existential idea (of the faux paradise - which seems to be this years theme considering Toy Story 3) more than anything. Very Synecdochesque like. Some sequences did slow it down though, especially the snowy bit where either nothing was really happening or you ... See morecouldn't tell what was going on, and it had some similar problems as The Dark Knight, but that definitely ain't stopping me from hopefully seeing it another 2 times including IMAX at the cinema, haha. Oh, and I ♥ Levitt as ever. "Worth a shot" - funniest moment. I got an understandable attachment to Memento, but I do agree, this is the epitome of Nolan, and I hope that Hollywood catches on and realizes that this is what it should be right now. Cotillard was probably at her hottest too and boy can Leo carry a film.
Also. Don't think of elephants. What are you thinking of right now?
Yeah, I've always found that Nolan is someone who will do a lot of things just to make you think. Like the infamous 'I did it' tattoo in Memento. But I like that as it adds another layer of mystery to the puzzle. :)
I've seen it twice so far and I liked it a lot more second time around. The first time, though I loved it, I felt a bit exhausted trying to piece all the story together. The second time, knowing the story, it was easier to appreciate some of the other aspects.
If I had to be picky and find faults with the film it'd be, first of all, the clunky dialogue. But I can overlook that because there was SO much to explain in 140 minutes. And also, like you said, the 3rd dream level with the snow was mainly just action for the sake of action.
I thought you'd find it Synecdochesque when there was the "But we did grow old together" sequence. That reminded me a bit of the end of the Synecdoche, New York.
Levitt is the man. Shame his character wasn't really up to so much, but he did a great job as he always does. :)
And Leo is getting better and better every year. He's proved to be one of those rare actors who has the ability to bring in millions of viewers as well as deliver stunning performances.
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