Thoughts on Cinema

The talented Mr. Cobb takes a journey into the subconscious but he might not like what he finds.

In the midst of a dry summer and nostalgic 80s remakes, Christopher Nolan’s multi-layered psychological driven caper stood as a breathe of fresh air because it might be the only movie of the year where the concept overshadowed his collection of incredible young acting talent assembled. Obviously Nolan was as meticulous with his choices  as he was about his film making. Intense focus, restraint, and precision was required on the parts of every actor involved to carefully move such a complex story forward. Every scene was integral to the story. No camera shot was squandered.

One has to wonder, how Christopher Nolan was able to green light such an anti-Hollywood script from the studio producers? Perhaps it involved a certain character with pointed ears? No matter. It’s difficult to say Inception was his best film. While the Dark Knight might be his most resolved and polished film, Inception was his most bold, complex and intellectually provocative work to date.

The story focused on a haunted man with a tremendous gift for understanding the subconscious. It began having explained why  an idea can be the most dangerous, volatile component to the human psyche once it’s released upon the world. Boiled down to it’s most essential ingredients, it was the ultimate price for living in the subconscious. The consequence was an illegal money making endeavor. Thus, a crew was assembled with the difficult task of planting an idea for a corporation in exchange for clearing a haunted man’s name. Whether or not he deserved to, is a moral question each person must ask themselves.

Without tired money wasting gimmicks like 3-D, the action sequences and camerawork were mind blowing, original, and innovative. However, the real genius was how Nolan drew the audience into this detached character who provided us dark secrets about his past. As we went deeper into the psyche of the mark, we also went deeper into the main character played by Leonardo DiCaprio who has come a long way from looking boyishly cute in the film, Man in the Iron Mask. His character’s self torment and guilt were an expression of  Nolan’s fetish for the human psyche with an almost Kubrickian approach. This was film making that should excite audiences and inspire our imagination. Perhaps we are all victims of Inception because it kept alive the idea of cinema as art in this era of overpriced retreads and pricey gimmicks.

In my never ending tribute to George Thorogood’s song of One bourbon, one Scotch, One beer I am giving Inception a rating of a very fine Scotch aged to perfection.

Cheers,
Ron