” …All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream”
Edgar Allan Poe
Christopher Nolan spent almost a decade writing the screenplay of Inception. He ends up designing the most labyrinthine conduit of greed, dreams, and deceit. The process of bringing the script into life for Nolan was nothing short of a stirring game of chess against an opponent who is both unknown and formidable. As the narrative revolves around dreams and reality. It is also a trick par excellence devised by a clever mind in Christopher Nolan who is perpetually playing a game of bluff bamboozling both the audience and the characters in the story. It would be extremely difficult for one to decipher the difference between reality and dreams after watching the movie for the first, the proverbial limbo as used in the movie. From the box of Pandora, an invincible force crumbles the perception of most of the characters in the movie-making them question the state of their existence. Are they dreaming now or were they always dreaming only to find a way out of them for one?
Dom Cobb played by Leonardo DiCaprio invades the minds of other people to steal their ideas. However, he is hired by a billionaire to introduce an idea into a rival’s mind, and make him believe that it was an idea he had himself perceived. Saito played by Ken Watanabe makes him an enticing offer that would finally allow him to reunite with his family, something that makes him think of ‘home’ all the time.
The team Cobb assembles include Arthur played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt Eames Tom Hardy, Yusuf played by Dileep Rao, and Ariadne played by Ellen Page. Michael Caine plays the role of Professor Stephen, his father in law and Marion Cotillard plays the role of Mal Cobb, Dom’s deceased wife (someone he keeps on seeing in the entire film).
The movie has some mind-bending visuals especially when Cobb introduces Ariadne to the world of dreams when the city turns on itself like a tube. The Cinematographer ( Wally Pfister ) deserves a lot of credit for the fantastically shot sequences throughout the movie.
Inception is still the movie Cinephile talk about when they discuss complicated plot lines yet they marvel at the quality performances delivered or the astonishing Cinematography of Wally Pfister. It lures us into the uncomfortable domain of uncertainty where we question the very state of our existence: Is this real? , Are we a part of some cynic’s extended dream?
