Figure 1, 2010, The Kick
Inception is a visual interpretation of what a dream world might look, on the surface there is not much distinction to a typical town that a viewer would expect to see in a typical town but then it becomes more dream-like when bridges appear from nowhere or when the world stenches as a box that the characters can walk all over. There is a lot of layers to the story but all influenced from various films. "To begin with, Nolan's propensity for gimmicky, unnecessarily complicated stories -witness Memento as Exhibit A- wraps his audience in so many layers that eventually even his characters onscreen cry "Uncle!" Second, if I see one more movie with a subplot that focuses on DiCaprio's character in emotional free fall due to guilt over the death of his wife (this year's Shutter Island and 2008's Revolutionary Road immediately spring to mind) I'm going to have nightmares myself." (Knight, 2010) This Identifies that Inception is wrapped in Postmodernism because it has borrowed plot lines from other films to make the characters have deeper connections and to make the viewer aware that the world of the film is still human and they can relate to.
Figure 2, 2010, Spinning top totem
Inception has based a huge central theme around espionage, as the film is about a group that is trying to plant a new idea in their target and robbing them of the life they might of led. "It is tempting to say that Nolan is the new Lewis Gilbert, director of The Spy Who Loved Me. At the third dream-level, DiCaprio and Murphy find themselves skiing in naff white military snowsuit outfits - much less cool than the formalwear they modelled in the hotel - towards a perfunctorily imagined Dr Evil-style mountainside HQ." (Bradshaw, 2010) The worlds in Inception have a strong James Bond influenced theme as if the characters drift from one set to another, even the projectons fight back with guns which makes confuses the concept of which world is real and which is the dream. This works in the final scene, where the audience are left wondering if Cobbs has actually made it back to his children or been tricked in the familiar settings of the dream.
Figure 3, 2010, Sleep Machine
Christopher Nolan also took inspiration for myth to include a subtle fantasy element to the dreams. "Ellen Page's Ariadne (named after the heroine of Greek myth who helped hero Theseus find his way through the Cretan Labyrinth) is The Architect whose job is to design the maze-like structures of the dreams." (Best, 2010) Nolan has used the idea of a giant maze/ labyrinth in the film as a hidden surface so the characters can hide from Fischer's projections, giving them longer to move around freely but as the film progresses the audience and the character Ariadne realises they are actually in a trap where Cobb's guilt for his ex-wife resurfaces. Araidne's creation scenes helps to put the fantasy side of a dream across to the audience and how the limits could be pushed through someone else's imagination.
Figure 4, (2010), Creation Scene - World changes
Illustrations
Figure 1, 2010, The Kick, @ http://www.vintagemint.com/2010/07/19/inception/, Accessed on: 19th July 2009
Figure 2, 2010, Spinning top totem, @ http://www.vintagemint.com/2010/07/19/inception/,
Accessed on: 19th July 2009
Figure 3, 2010, Sleep Machine, @ http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/07/inception-oscar/,
Accessed on: 17th July 2010
Figure 4, (2010), Creation Scene - World changes, @ http://www.movie-moron.com/?p=12868, Accessed on: 11th July 2010Bibliography
Best Jason, (2010), What's on TV - Inception, @ http://blogs.whatsontv.co.uk/movietalk/2010/12/22/inception-christopher-nolans-dazzling-sci-fi-thriller-has-heart-as-well-as-brains/, Accessed on: 22nd December 2010
Bradshaw Peter (2010), Culture Film - Inception, @ http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/jul/15/inception-review, Accessed on: 15th July 2010
Knight Richard, (2010), Windy City Times - Inception, @ http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=27308, Accessed on: 14th July 2010
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| 4 ½ /5 |
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