Enjoy It While It Lasts
Project 365 here 365Pieces
Jul 17th, 2010 @ 9:01 pm
You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling…
Ok, guys. If you follow my shite blog you’ll know that last night I had a bit of a fit over some new film called something like Inception. Heard of it? OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE WITH A MARKETING BUDGET OF ONE HUNDRED FUCKING MILLION DOLLARS.
My expectations were high to say the least. I mean, did you see that trailer? Those cryptic posters which say things like “The Dream is Real” and “The Shade” and “Your Mind is the Scene of the Crime” and “The Point Man”? Yeah, I saw all of that, so I was pretty damn excited for this movie. Allow me to elaborate.
Inception was, to put it plainly, a masterpiece. The hype is entirely deserved, if not lacking. It goes to show how good a film is when there’s not enough hype surrounding it. It was the most original, creative and surprising film that will be released this year, if not this coming decade. The words ‘creative’ and ‘original’ are used together far too much describing new films, but they are completely at home together with Inception.
The premise to begin with is the most original thing I’ve seen in the cinema since District 9. Creativity-wise, you have to see it to believe it. Ellen Page’s character’s dream sequences near the beginning are some of the most flawlessly composed scenes I’ve ever seen, and couple those with Jospeh Gordon-Levitt’s no-gravity-corridor-fight-scene, you know you’ve seen something rare.
But do afew amazing action sequences really make a movie a masterpiece? No, absolutely not. What makes Inception a masterpiece though, is the perfect, seamless culmination of every aspect of film-making. The initial idea, the performances (props to Leo, JGL and Cotillard, all Oscar-worthy in my 15 year old opinion), the actual script (despite afew rambling explanaitions), the pure and clear-headed direction, the cinematography, the out of this world action sequences and the excecution of the idea.
Let me say a few things about the visual aesthetic of this movie; It’s incredible. Basing your whole movie on the idea of dreams and alternate realities opens you up to all kinda of visual treats, and let me tell you, Inception delivers. When I say ‘visual treats’ you probably think of the scene from the tv-spot where there’s fruit flying all over the gaff, but Inception knows better than to jam pack itself with CGI fruit. The clever thing about the dream sequences is that they are so firmly based in reality. We dream and anything can happen, but we know nothing more than what we percieve as reality (…bare with me) so obviously, that’s where our dreams come from. Chris Nolan being the genius that he has now proved himself to be, knows this. Take for example, that actual scene on the Paris street with the fruit. We, like Ellen Page’s character, believe she is in the real world. But only until she is told otherwise. When she’s told she is dreaming, chairs and fruit take flight and explode all over the place. This shows (this is starting to sound like an English essay) the connection between the dream world and reality. Ok, what I’m trying to say is that I loved how realistic the dream sequences were. Obviously, so many of them are grandiose and of epic propertion (Level 4 anyone?) but there was details like Mal’s old house that rooted it in reality. Nolan could have cheapened the whole thing and gone all Avatar and in-your-face, but he’s better than that. Even in the snowy mountains, there’s always that sneaking suspicion that “This is too real to be a dream”.
Another thing that was, ahem, out of this world, about Inception, was how well-cast and on-form the whole ensemble was. Putting the likes of Cillian Murphy and Ellen Page on the same screen doesn’t seem like it would work, but throw in Leonardo DiCaprio’s best performance evaah (better than in Revlutionary Road), some of Tom Hardy’s dirty presence, Marian Cotillard’s knack for literally heart-breaking delivery, and it all just moulds together perfectly. Awards-wise there’s 4 front runners. 2 for definite; Leo for Best Actor and Cotillard for Best Supporting Actress. The other two are Josph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy for Best Supporting Actor, but I wouldn’t count on either being recognised. I think JG-L has a better shot than Hardy, but figers crossed for both. Original screenplay is a shoe-in for winning as well as special effects and the score (BRRRRRRRRR). If Nolan isn’t nominated for best director, and Inception for best film, then there’s no justice in the world. None.
This is a summer blockbuster, no doubt about it. But, like The Dark Knight (…sorry, did someone say over-rated?), Inception is an art-houe blockbuster. Does this sound unappealing? If so, then get the fuck out. Bullshit films like Transformers will make loads and loads of money, not for being good, but for numbing your brain and making your it that little bit smaller. Nothing to make you think. Nothing to challenge you. It’s reassuring, then, to have a huge film, with an even bigger budget, that actually makes you think. I’m all for being entertained, but being bored to death by fighting robots is not entertainment. Cinema is all about entertaining people, but it should not be stupid, empty entertainment. It should get you thinking. So, we can all be comforted by the fact that we have people like Christopher Nolan and the people at Pixar to deliver not only high-budget films, but high-quality films.
I’ll say it once, and I’ll say it 528491 (DAT NUMBER) times, Inception is a modern masterpiece. See it in cinemas while you can. See it again. And again and again until you’re not sure wether you’re dreaming or not. Film of the year.
