Reception by Inception's reception

Been back from Haiti for a week and a bit now, the Summer is always a bit odd with people away and stuff, which means nothing is quite 'as normal' anyway. Coming back from the time in Haiti to a slightly affected rhythm of life means i'm still working through all that happened and still waiting to speak to certain people about it to help me formulate an even response to the question 'how was Haiti?'. When i figure that out i'll get back to you on it. For now though, it was good.

In the midst of this Summer madness i turn to the only place i know for help with re-orientation: the Summer blockbuster! Specifically, Inception, which i'd been looking forward to for a long while. Having missed its release and the surrounding furore, and having heard close friends and trusted film lovers come out both hailing it and hating it, i felt in a suitable position to judge the truth of the matter. And the truth of the matter is this: It's better than Vanilla Sky.

This post from Glen Marshall and the subsequent comments frame the key points of the discussion well. My view is this -

Tension comes from consequences that matter. You can't make suggestions that it's all a dream and then also expect people to buy into multiple layers of hand-wringing drama, for which, incidentally, things have to keep being invented to make the events of worth - "Ah, well, you see, at this depth of dreaming, and under this particular sedative, if you die you won't wake, you go to (duh-duh-daahhhh) limbo".

Limbo: the most feared outcome imaginable, is voluntarily skipped into and then waltzed out of, after a bit of a look around.

Couldn't buy into the stuff with Leo and his wife, i'm afraid. I instead found Cillian Murphy's character the most sympathetic, which is a shame because he was the one we're supposed to want to be conned.

Like Glen says, good themes: looking at sub-consciousness; the play-off between memory, imagination and creativity; the idea that any worldview you could possibly take is always a "leap of faith"; hints at dementia and the loss of reality within relationships with loved ones. Shame though that we're whisked past these ideas with no time or stimulation for reflection - the next breathtaking sequence is calling.

The sequences were absolutely breathtaking, it's just that they were held together by too thin a thread to bear the cumulative weight of objectives.

The film made me think of too many truly great films that this one can't stand up to. It made me think i would rather be watching The Matrix, Blade Runner, Citizen Kane, Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, Brazil or the Bournes.

Ellen Page was too painfully serving as 'Basil Exposition'.

Entertained? Yeah, sure. Would i watch it again? Aha. I just have difficulty with how seriously it takes itself and how clever it thinks it is. If you can buy into nonsense though, it works fine.

It is a dream, by the way. Forget the final shot, and forget anything you may have heard about the wedding ring. Think instead about the chronology of the repetition of the 'leap of faith' line. Think about Leo always being chased by faceless agents of some corporation. Think about Leo getting stuck between the two buildings. Think about who handles Leo's totem. Think about how closely Leo's reunion with his children resembles his dreams of them. Think about the slowed down 'je ne regrette rien' serving as the score.

Plus, how old is Tom Berenger!? These past 10 years have really kicked his arse!