Inception is one of my favourite movies of all time, directed by one of my favourite directors currently working, Christopher Nolan, and starring some of my favourite actors, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy Having watched it many times, I thought I would share my thoughts on each part of the movie, as a running commentary of sorts. I’ve also included some dialogue in order for you to gauge where in the movie I am and perhaps to read this as you watch the film (though I wouldn't recommend this for a first time viewing!).
If you haven’t seen the movie yet, I implore you to. Inception is a superb, original film, full of action, emotion and awesome music. It also has a (inter)stellar cast and an extremely talented director/writer. If you still haven’t been convinced to watch it, then I must warn you that the following commentary will (obviously) contain major spoilers and will probably make no sense without watching the film anyway.
So without further ado…
“I’ve seen one before, many, many years ago. It belonged to a man I met in a half remembered dream”
Christopher Nolan likes to use non-linear storytelling, such as in Memento- a movie which literally starts at the end and ends at the start- as demonstrated by this scene. As Cobb washed up on the shore and talks to the older Saito, the audience is left wondering what is going on. Is this a dream or reality? This is also a struggle faced by some of the characters in the movie.
“What is the most resilient parasite?”
I love Leonardo DiCaprio in this role, as well as Joseph Gordon Levitt as his partner in crime, Arthur. This scene is a clever way of presenting exposition about 'extraction' to the audience as Cobb tries to trick Saito into showing him where he keeps his secrets under the pretense that he is there to protect him from the very thing he is trying to do (did that make sense?). Also, this line really sets up how powerful an idea is- something that we later find out leads to Mal’s demise.
“What’s going on up there?”
What appears to be a (slightly odd) earthquake is revealed to the audience as being a dream- the tremors are being caused by turmoil in reality. Instantly, this scene is more complicated than it first appeared- the audience is straightaway having to keep up with the concepts introduced.
Cutting to Cobb’s watch as time speeds up cleverly hints at the fact that time is different in each layer of the dream, a plot point that becomes important later in the film.
"Tell me- do the children miss me?"
This is the beginning of the mystery surrounding Cobb. It is hinted here that Mal is his wife but the viewer is left to guess what has happened in the past. The dialogue suggests that she is no longer around, perhaps even dead.
“That you are here to steal from me or that we are actually asleep?”
This line and the following music from Hans Zimmer gives me goose bumps. It’s such a brilliant way for the characters to confront each other and the fact that Cobb’s heist has gone wrong in the first scene is unconventional. The aforementioned score, by Hans Zimmer, is one of the best scores of all time and really makes a great film, incredible. (If you want to read an article I wrote about the score from this movie, please click here).
“Killing him will just wake him up, but pain… pain is in the mind”
Marion Cotillard is excellent in this role. It was the first movie I saw her in and so I was left with the impression that she was really intense and crazy in all of her roles, which is obviously not true. So much is set up in this dialogue. The audience finds out that Mal cannot be trusted, despite the fact that she is Cobb's wife. It also introduces the idea that dying in a dream will cause you to wake up in reality (or the next layer of the dream) as well as the fact that you can still feel pain in a dream.
Additionally, I love the sequence where Cobb dives onto the table, grabs the gun, shoots Arthur (who wakes up in ‘reality’) and runs away, with Hans Zimmer’s awesome score, ‘Dream Is Collapsing’, blaring in the background.
"Give him the kick. Dunk him."
I love the use of silent, slow-motion here as Cobb is given a 'kick'- the way that 'reality' affects the dream is very clever as dunking Cobb in a bath full of water causes a wave to crash towards him in the dream world causing him to wake.
(Cut to them sleeping on the train)
After the team and Saito have woken up in what he (and the audience) thinks is reality, the film cuts to them sleeping on a train, revealing that they were previously in a dream within a dream. I love that Nolan has the confidence to go for this rather than easing the audience into the concept of the movie; we are immediately thrown into an opening including two layers of dream.
Later, the use of the song ‘Je ne regrette rien’ is amazing; I adore the way it starts off normally in the real world and then when we cut to the dream, where time is slower, the song is slowed down and blends into the sound of horns. This is an ingenious way for the characters to signal that they don’t have much time left and also makes for a really creative score by Hans Zimmer.
Also, on a less serious note, I’ve always wondered how much time had to be spent just filming the actor’s sleeping in different locations- on the train, in the flat, on an airplane...
"You have lived up to your reputation, Mr Cobb. I am still dreaming"
Saito, who is disappointed by Cobb’s obvious deception, realises that the carpet he is lying on is polyester, which isn’t the case in reality. This leads him to find out that he is still dreaming and therefore that Cobb's deception was in actual fact very clever. This counters the fact that the heist has gone wrong- the audience shouldn't think that Cobb is an amateur- because the movie suggests that only a skilled extractor could go into a dream within a dream.
"We're in mine"
Just like Arthur was the 'dreamer' in the first dream, the architect is the 'dreamer' in this level. The reason why the projections attack him in this scene is explained later on in the movie- projections will always try and find the dreamer when it comes to shared dreaming. In this case, these are Saito's projections because he is the 'subject'. (If you're confused about this, watch the scene where Ariadne first learns about shared dreaming).
“Well I don’t like trains”
As the team wake up in reality (for real this time) after the failure of their extraction heist, Cobb makes a hasty exit, stating that he doesn't like trains. This hints at events in his past that the audience finds out about through the course of the story. Along with the conversation between Mal and Cobb in the dream, these clues set up a mystery surrounding Cobb’s wife that develops as we watch the movie.
Additionally, as aforementioned, I like that the first mind heist that we witness fails, as this makes the story more unconventional as well as suggesting that the main ‘inception’ heist may fail- it raises the stakes.
"When are you coming home, Dad?"
This scene makes the audience more sympathetic towards Cobb because he clearly genuinely loves his children and has seemingly had to cope with the death of his wife. At this point, the viewer is also left to wonder why Cobb can't visit his children.
“Here’s me planting an idea in your head. I say to you don’t think about elephants. What do you think about?”
Here, Arthur simply explains how inception works and why it’s so difficult, or in his view impossible. The dialogue introduces the audience to the concept of planting an idea in someone’s mind in a more basic sense. By mentioning elephants, Arthur has ‘planted’ the idea into Saito’s mind but the problem is that he can remember where the origin of the idea came from so it doesn’t feel like true inspiration.
"I need him to decide to break up his father's empire"
Here, we are introduced to the aim of the 'inception' heist. Saito wants to get rid of a competitor and needs Cobb to plant an idea into a man's mind in order to do so.
"Come back to reality Dom"
And here we have the great Micheal Caine in about 5 minutes of screen time. Christopher Nolan and him consider each other 'lucky charms' with Caine appearing in nearly every Nolan film to date, including The Dark Knight, Interstellar and The Prestige.
“So, how did we end up here?”
This is one of my favourite scenes in the movie. We, as the audience, believe that this scene will simply be an exposition heavy conversation where Cobb explains to Ariadne how shared dreaming works. However, the movie pulls the rug out from underneath us by revealing that they are actually in a dream. The dialogue preceding this is ingenious because everyone can relate to the idea of a dream feeling real when you’re in it or not remembering how it started.
I love the CGI of the world exploding around them and the debris just floating in the air. Additionally, the fact that there is no music in this scene until you start to hear the horns is really effective. The Hans Zimmer score is of course brilliant but the trick with a good score is knowing when it is needed. In this instance, the scene works brilliantly due to the silence as the focus is on the sound design of the debris exploding and then the building dramatic horns which turn into the Edith Piaf song.
“In a dream your mind functions more quickly, therefore time seems to feel more slow”
After the shot of Cobb's watch hinted earlier on, this scene confirms that time functions differently in a dream. This is a concept that will become important later on, especially when there are multiple layers of dream.
“My question is what happens when you start messing with the physics of it all?”
This is one of the most visually unique and epic scenes in a movie ever. The folding building effect is awesome, with the CGI still holding up today. The score accompanying the scene, ‘Radical Notion’, works very well with the visuals and really encapsulates the wonder that Ariadne, as well as the viewer, feel. It's scenes like this that make the dreams in the movie actually feel like dreams.
"That way when you look at your totem, you know beyond a doubt that you're not in someone else's dream"
The origin of the spinning top that Cobb carries around is explained. The fact that he obsessively checks his totem after every dream suggests that he has had an experience in the past that means that he doubts what reality is. The spinning top totem is one of the more iconic things about the film, due to the originality of the idea and the simplistic yet effective design.
“It’s perfectly possible. It’s just bloody difficult”
I love Tom Hardy as Eames in this movie. Also, an introduction to the ultimately pointless, yet highly amusing, rivalry between Arthur and Eames. The latter focuses more on the creative and emotional side of the heist whereas Arthur is more about the technicalities and logistics, causing a clash of personalities.
This trip to Mombassa marks the beginning of Cobb recruiting his team (Eames and Yusuf), with each member having a role comparable to a movie crew. Nolan confirmed that Cobb is the director, Arthur is the producer, Ariadne is the production designer, Eames is the actor, Saito is the studio, and Fischer is the audience.
“Freddy? Freddy Simmons. My God it’s you, isn’t it? No, it isn’t”
Hahahahaha I love Eames...
(Cobb gets stuck in a narrow gap)
Hahaha Cobb's struggle to fit through a narrow wall always makes me laugh for some reason.
"In a dream you can cheat architecture into impossible shapes"
The Penrose stairs make for some very interesting ‘paradoxical’ visuals. This also explains how the architect can create a big enough world to make it seem like reality. The conversation moves on to creating mazes, which links back to Ariadne's first test of designing a maze and is another aspect of dream sharing. The architect must create a maze so that the dreamers can hide from the projections. This is also the reason why Cobb mustn't know about the layout of the maze -it would mean that they can't hide from his projection of Mal.
“She was lovely”
Again, the line adds to the building mystery surrounding Cobb and his wife, as she is revealed to have died.
"This idea will define him"
The dialogue emphasises the power of an idea, linking to Cobb's past and calls back to the comparison made to a parasite at the start of the movie.
“I put it beside his bed. He hasn’t even noticed”
The whole heist is dependent on the relationship between Fischer and his father, and Cillian Murphy completely nails the performance as a son who thinks his father doesn’t love him. His subtle performance really makes you sympathise with him.
“So he gives himself the idea”
This concept may seem confusing at first but after a couple of careful re-watches, it’s pretty clear. The plan is to suggest that Browning is not trustworthy so that Fischer’s subconscious begins to become suspicious. This means that his own subconscious version of Browning will ‘give’ him the idea that he should not listen to his godfather and instead reject his inheritance.
“An elegant solution for keeping track of reality”
I love the concept of totems though it is curious that the spinning top totem is actually Mal’s despite the fact that a totem should only work for its owner. This has sparked fans into suggesting that Cobb’s actual totem is his wedding ring as he is apparently seen wearing it in his dreams but not in reality.
“Because they think I killed her…”
It is revealed that Cobb is suspected of murdering his wife. This is the first instance in the movie that makes you doubt whether Cobb is innocent or not.
“My father accepts that I want to create for myself not follow in his footsteps”
I love the whole “positive emotion trumps negative emotion” idea because it means that the movie has a more emotional and satisfying climax, rather than a goal of destroying a man’s relationship with his father which may prevent viewers from empathising with the team.
“I’m sorry maths was never my strong subject…”
*immediately looks for GIF*
"Depends on the dream"
I feel like Yusuf is a bit of an underrated character in this movie. Also, note the important foreshadowing of Cobb being stuck in limbo.
“This, Ariadne, would be a kick”
Once again, the rivalry between Eames and Arthur is hilarious. This scene expands upon the concept of a 'kick' that was introduced at the start of the movie. It's a great idea that plays on the fact that the feeling of falling nearly always wakes us up when we're asleep. As Arthur suggests, they use the musical countdown to synchronise the kicks which furthers his character's role as the 'producer'.
This sequence, where the team are planning the heist, is one of my favourite sequences of the movie partly because you see how it all falls apart but eventually comes together at the end and partly because I just love a good montage.
“I bought the airline. It seemed neater”
Casually buying an entire airline- I'm sure we can all relate.
"It's the only way I can still dream"
Here we get to glimpse snatches of Cobb’s past that are explained later on in the film, such as a speeding train. This sequence provides a piece to the puzzle of Cobb's past, including memories of him having to leave the country and a ruined hotel suite.
“I’ll tell you a riddle. You’re waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you. But you don’t know for sure. Yet it doesn’t matter. How can it not matter to you where that train will take you?”
This is my favourite line of the film: it is delivered in different ways each time depending on where in the story we are. Here, it is used to show how crazy this dream version of Mal is, building tension through her unpredictability. The setting for this scene also adds to the tension and mystery- what happened here? Did Cobb kill his wife in this hotel suite? This is also a perfect scene to precede the beginning of the heist because Cobb's subconscious is a ticking time bomb that will undoubtedly complicate the plan.
“He was my father”
Cillian Murphy’s delivery of this line is great; he's so conflicted and it really highlights the tension between him and his father.
“Couldn’t have peed before you went under?”
Hahaha and so the heist begins. This first layer of dream feels so real, yet this humorous line shows that the dreamer still controls the dream (in this case the dreamer is Yusef).
(Freight train through the street)
Apart from being an impressive visual (created by modifying a truck and driving it through the streets), the appearance of the train in the dream shows that the plan has immediately gone wrong. Cobb’s attempts at controlling his subconscious have unsurprisingly failed and additionally Fischer’s subconscious is trained against extractors thus raising the stakes even more.
“So what happens when we die?”
Speaking of raised stakes, Cobb reveals that they won’t wake up when they die but will instead be stuck in ‘limbo’. This is the second instance where the film suggests that Cobb is not trustworthy- he didn’t tell the team of the risk that they were taking coming into the dream. This revelation also means that the team have to go through with the plan, deeper into Fischer's mind, with no way out.
"Thank you. So, now we're trapped in Fischer's mind battling his own private army and if we get killed we'll be lost in limbo until our brains turn to scrambled egg"
A nice summary there, Eames.
“After my mother died, you know what he told me? Robert, there’s really nothing to be said…I was eleven.”
Have I mentioned that I love Cillian Murphy in this?
"And I could only make out one word...Disappointed"
Fischer's relationship with his father is even worse than it first appeared, which makes the final reconciliation even more emotional and uplifting, especially considering how the word 'disappointed' is revealed to have a different meaning.
“She had locked something away, something deep inside her. A truth that she had once known but chose to forget”
We finally get to hear what happened to Mal, how Cobb got stuck in limbo and why he can’t go back home. I like the visual here- locking away the totem symbolising locking away the truth that her world is not real. It is also quite interesting that changes made in the subconscious really affect the dreamer- an idea can 'grow to define or destroy you'.
"James and Phillipa are waiting for you!"
This is a fantastic scene. DiCaprio and Cotillard are superb here- you really feel the sense of desperation from Cobb and the Mal's obsession with the idea that the world around her is not real. The ‘I’m waiting for a train’ speech is delivered differently than last time. Once again it highlights her mental instability but the circumstances also make it heart breaking, with the accompanying score by Zimmer really accentuating this.
“First 6 numbers that come to your head right now. 5 2 8 4 9 1…”
This sets up a brilliant easter egg/plot device where these numbers keeps showing up (for example on the hotel room door and the phone number that the woman gives Fischer later on) building up to Fischer opening up the safe with this combination of numbers at the end of the film.
“You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger darling”
Okay, maybe this is my favourite line of the film. Eames is the best.
“You drive carefully, alright?”
Something tells me that’s not going to happen.
"Am I boring you?"
This calls back to the idea of not remembering how dreams start- we are immediately thrown into the action, or in this case a conversation as we enter the dream.
“Who or what is Mr Charles?”
Another great concept which reminds the audience that Cobb is the best extractor in the business. The plan is to tell Fischer he is dreaming in order to get him to cooperate with them, but the problem is that it involves alerting him to the fact that he is dreaming. This causes his subconscious to become suspicious as seen when all the projections in the restaurant all stop and look at Cobb.
"What was that number, Mr Fischer?"
You've got to feel for Fischer- the poor guy's father just died and now he's getting manipulated by Cobb and his team.
“Because how he acts will tell us if Fischer is starting to suspect his motives the way we want him to”
This goes back to the plan that Fischer will give himself the idea- the team are hoping that Browning will act suspiciously to reflect Fischer's growing distrust of his godfather. Luckily, the projection acts as they want him to and they trick Fischer into going into yet another layer of dream under the pretense of finding out what Browning is up to.
“Wait, who’s subconscious are we going into?”
Ariadne is the voice of the audience as she tries to clarify what is actually going on. This is where things start to get really interesting as there are now three layers of dream with different ‘time streams’ (is that the right term?) each affecting the next layer of dream.
(Van rolls over)
The way that the first layer of dream affects the next is really original and leads to this amazing hallway fight scene, one of my favourite scenes in any movie. The music for this scene as well as the camera work is perfect as there are very few cuts so the action is seen clearly. The gravity changes throughout the fight makes for a truly unforgettable and unique fight scene. A rotating corridor was built for the purpose of filming this sequence which is why the movements seems so realistic (see below an interesting video on this set). Joseph Gordon Levitt performed nearly all of his own stunts, making the action all the more impressive. In my opinion, this is one of the greatest action set pieces of all time.
Interesting 'behind the scenes' video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=junBvKGZCDc
"Did you see that?"
Literally me when watching this movie with someone else.
"Cobb, do you hear that?"
This whole heist has been done on a tighter time frame than expected, and even more so now that Yusuf is forced to drive the van off the bridge too soon.
(Snow chase)
Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of this snow chase partly because it's hard to see who is involved in the action and also because it goes on for longer than I would have liked it to. Nevertheless, the settings for these dreams are distinctive and makes it clear what level is being shown especially when the film quickly cuts back and forth between all the characters and settings. (Fun fact: for television broadcasts in Japan, they included text on screen displaying what layer of the dream each scene takes place in).
"Paradox"
Everything that is set up in the first and second acts pay off at some point in the movie, whether it be kicks, the Penrose stairs or the idea that time runs differently in dreams. One of the reasons why Nolan is such a fantastic director and writer is that he knows how to effectively tell a story, even when the events may not be fully chronological. His grasp on story telling made it possible for him to make films like Memento, a movie that, as mentioned before, is backwards in that the it starts at the end of the story and works backwards to the start.
(Van hits the bridge)
The immediate change in gravity as Arthur is sent flying and the resultant avalanche on the third level link all three levels rather than having them as isolated worlds with their own action. Nolan makes sure that the audience buys the fact that the characters are in a dream within a dream within a dream (phew!) rather than just three separate settings.
"She's not real!"
Cobb's projection of Mal seemingly ruins the entire heist and his unwillingness to let go of her prevents him from shooting her. His question 'how do you know?' highlights the fact that he, too, doubts what is and isn't real.
“It’s a shame…I really wanted to know what was going to happen in there”
The classic “no hope” segment of a movie where it seems as though everything is going wrong only for someone to come up with a solution (in this case Ariadne). Also, notice the music cutting out when Cobb declares it all over- the sudden end to the music emphasises the apparent failure. and hopelessness of the situation.
“There’s something you should know about me. About inception”
Just when you think you know the truth about Mal, it is revealed that there is more to the story than we have been told. We have literally travelled deeper inside Cobb’s mind as Ariadne said in the first level and only at the very deepest do we find out the truth.
“An idea is like a virus”
This goes back to one of the first lines of the film and really suggests that the idea ‘infected’ Mal.
“Chased around the globe by anonymous corporations and police forces. The way the projections persecute the dreamer”
This is a pretty interesting line that I only noticed upon second viewing- it makes the viewer doubt what is reality and what isn’t. It also enhances the effect of the very last shot of the film, leading to different interpretations of the conclusion of the film.
“That the idea that caused you to question your reality came from me”
The whole truth is finally revealed. Cobb performed inception on Mal in order to get them back to reality so in some ways, he actually did kill his wife. It explains why he hasn't been able to let go of his wife- the guilt has been eating him up, causing his projection of Mal to burst through his subconscious and into the dreams.
“You’re waiting for a train…”
This is the last time that we hear the 'waiting for a train..' speech and this time it directly relates to the situation at hand. Instead of demonstrating Mal's mental instability, as before, the speech highlights the love between Cobb and Mal, making the scene even more heartbreaking.
“You’re just a shade of my real wife”
Cobb finally realises that the real Mal is dead and that this dream projection is not his wife. His decision to find Saito instead of staying with Mal is a pivotal one because it marks the point where he has finally let go of her and decided to move on.
“No...I was disappointed that you tried”
The music in this scene is powerful, making for a surprisingly emotional reconciliation between father and son considering the fact that this is not only a dream, but also a moment that has been planned by the team. As I said before, the revelation that his father was not disappointed in him, but rather disappointed that he tried to live up to his father was the whole aim of the heist as it will result in Fischer taking apart his company as Saito desires.
"That's the kick Ariadne. You have to go now"
The team riding the kicks back up to the first layer of dream is another one of my favourite sequences in the film. You see each team member waking up after every kick, 'riding' the kicks back to the first dream. Once again the music is fantastic and the use of slow motion is effective as well. I also love how, when the van hits the water, the horns once again blend with the Edith Piaf song- I'll never tire of that sound effect.
“I have to let you go”
This moving scene, as Cobb tries to accept his wife's death, in the midst of the action, showing that Inception is not a mindless action movie but does have an emotional core. The line marks the end point of Cobb’s character arc as he has finally accepted that he has to move on and let go of his guilt and grief. The flashback where it is revealed that they did grow old together, along with the subtle music, is very touching and concludes Mal's story line effectively.
"That's what I'm going to do, Uncle Peter"
Aww...Fischer's happiness almost makes this seem like a noble cause.
"Have you come to kill me?"
Nolan’s non linear story telling from the start of the movie now makes sense as we now know that Cobb is there to bring Saito back to reality and that the first scene of the movie actually takes place in their subconscious or 'limbo'. It also bookends the story quite well, with all the pieces of the puzzle now in place.
“Welcome home, Mr Cobb”
This entire sequence is indisputably one of the best scenes in any movie ever. There is very little dialogue but the sense of satisfaction and happiness that the team feel at pulling off their heist is conveyed to the audience solely through the music and the acting. The music, ‘Time’, is one of my favourite scores of all time and really makes this scene amazing. I love the little nods and significant looks from each member of the team as Cobb walks by and Fischer's face is hilarious because his expression says ‘haven’t I seen you before?’. Oh and Michael Caine also returns for about 10 more seconds of screen time.
Next time you get off a plane and collect your luggage, just think about the music from this scene to make it more epic.
(Spinning totem)
Words cannot describe how much I love this very last shot. The way the camera doesn’t cut away. The music that gradually becomes quieter. And of course the fact that the screen goes to black just as you see the totem teeter. Every time I watch, I try not to blink as I try to figure out whether it’s going to fall or not. Though it suggests that he is still dreaming, Nolan clarified that this was not the intended message. Instead, this last shot is meant to show that Cobb no longer obsesses over his dreams and can finally be happy.
(Titles)
Honestly, this ending gives me goosebumps. The way the music goes from extremely subtle in order to allow the viewer to concentrate to the ‘Dream is Collapsing’ fanfare as the title shows up really reinforces how good this movie is and why it is one of my favourites of all time.
So, that was Inception! Feel free to leave your thoughts on the film in the comments and if you would like me to write another 'commentary' styled article in the future! Do check out our other blog posts as well...
P.S
Below are some interesting, funny and entertaining videos you may want to watch after watching the film:
Everything Wrong With Inception: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKI432lCZaU
Everything Great With Inception: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O8WTx-1Vb4
Honest Trailers- Inception: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BfMivMDOBI
How Inception Should Have Ended: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBAuMpOpSnA
Behind the scenes:
Hallway fight sequence
Exploding debris
Science of dreaming