Tuesday 27 July 2010

Inception Elsewhere


Now what’s the point of having a blog and inviting people to read it if you don’t post the occasional film review?

Eh!?

I’m in Elsewhere, they speak like this around here, and I set off down the road, stopped at the Portuguese cafe for a coffee plus and then wandered on a bit more until I came to a wall where I saw this.

Could have been an omen as I was on my way to see Inception.

Now I don’t think much of reviews that tell you at great length what happens in the film so I’ll just say that the message on the wall was pretty appropriate as the film is all about manipulating people’s dreams.

I’m sure if you really need to know more about the plot you can find it so I’ll just tell you something else.

Like the fact that I chose to see the film in non-3d.

I explain partly why here (click) and partly because what I like about watching films is discovering the story, watching the emotions and enjoying character portrayal, none of which are enhanced much by 3-d.

Inception is director Christopher Nolan’s new film, he certainly made The Dark Knight previously and Memento some time before that.

I enjoyed Memento without being swept away and I loved the Dark Knight, even going as far as buying the DVD and adding it to my library (pile on the floor).

So that’s where I’m coming from.

Inception combines the head scratching and what’s going on here? of Memento with the majestic cinematography of The Dark Knight - sweeping confusion with orchestral excitement.

I loved it.

I will go again.

Apparently, when you manipulate other people through their dreams and someone shoots you, you wake up, so if you don’t want to wake up you get sedated on top of asleep and then if you don’t actually want to steal a secret, but leave one instead, it’s a bit more complicated so not only do you need to be sedated but you need to build a dream inside the first dream and probably at least one more inside that one. And anyway things won’t go exactly to plan and you will end up inside someone else’s sub-conscious. Where there might be something you didn’t expect.

That’s the plot by the way.

It’s not scary; my 15 year old daughter did not have to sleep with her feet under her best friend’s afterwards.

It IS confusing – at one point my son, sitting on my right, lent across and asked “why is the man with the moustache trying to kill the guy floating on the ceiling?” I explained and then my wife, sitting on my left, lent across and asked, “Why is the man with the moustache trying to kill the guy floating on the ceiling?”

I missed the next couple of scenes.

Interestingly for a film that is so new and so weird the special effects are not much more advanced than they were in the first of the Matrix films, but I was happy with that as it meant that the story was to the forefront.

Leonardo Diwhatsit is the main actor and basically he is getting more substantial in each film I see him in, mature is the word I believe. Miss Page, I don’t think she is married, who plays the main character in Juno, has a nice role as the architect for the dream, something she has to learn how to do, and therefore continues her portrayal of open innocence.

Michael Caine has a very small part, one and a half scenes really -it’s not enough – I could listen to his voice for ages without loosing interest.

So, was it too confusing? I didn’t think so; I thought it was remarkably consistent in its impossible logic.

Any complaints? Well, the ending, the very, very end was a little clumsy.

What was the message?

Reality, life, is what you make it, don’t have any regrets.

I think.

9 comments:

Vicki Hollett said...

Oh funnily enough Chris, we're planning to go and see it tonight with a friend who has already seen it once. Like you, he wants to go again.

popps said...

Vicki, what did you think?

Denise Mackenzie said...

Here is a great podcast for films -Mark Kermode on BBC Radio 5 live every week on Fridays or podcast for those long car journeys!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/kermode

popps said...

Thanks Denise, i'm home now by the way.

Vicki said...

We never made it, Chris - comnbination of visitors and slow to dry polyurethane on the front door.
But we wanna go - really wanna go after this great review.

popps said...

Vicki, once you have seen the film, not before, this wikipedia article is a mine of interesting stuff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inception_(film)

Vicki said...

That wiki entry was helpful! Oh and do you remember a scene where mal and cob are talking near the end and she says something like I thought we'd grow old togather and he says they did? There was a brief image of a couple walking away in what looked like cloisters, and for a moment I wondered if either/both might actually be suffering from Alzheimer’s....

popps said...

He He!
I do remember that scene, it seemed to be "odd' at the time, like "ok she's dead, but they grow old in the dream where time is meant to be slower so how come they are young in the other reality?" but who am i to quibble.
Alzheimers hadn't crossed my mind!
So... did you like it?
And how's the door?

Mike said...

You've sold the film to me! Must make a point of cinema next week.

I loved Memento. First time I saw it, I was blown away. But perhaps it ain't for everyone.

Preferred Begins to Dark Knight - a tad overlong.