Inception

When subconscious thief Dominick Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) fails his recent assignment, his mark offers one last job to square things. Initially refusing, Saito (Ken Wantanabe) sweetens the pot by fixing the charges against Cobb, allowing him to return home to his family. Along with Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt,) Ariadne (Ellen Paige,) and Eames (Tom Hardy) the team sets out to plant and idea inside their mark, Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy,) a concept, Cobb explains, is called Inception. Cobb harbors a dark secret, however, that threatens the job and everyone involved.

While this film is deeper than the typical heist film, it shares the basic elements: employment, intelligence, construction, execution and resolution. The key to creating a great heist movie is chemistry, conflict, casting and execution. These components, when properly utilized, fill the piece with meaning and make it memorable. And a memorable movie always lasts.

Inception has great chemistry between the cast and the mechanical elements, as well as the characters with each other. For instance, Dicaprio's voice and performance coupled with the sound editing, the feeling and the emotion inside the dream world emotes the sensation felt when waking suddenly from a deep sleep: hearing is enhanced sound louder, the atmosphere is drier and surroundings are disorienting. The characters and their actors are perfectly comfortable with each other, leading the audience to relax and engage easier. Even the relationship between the Villain of the piece, Moll (Marion Cotillard) and Cobb, our protagonist and hero. She offers, not evil deeds or practices, but shirking responsibility and giving into the freedom of the dream, driving the pain within to manifest within her husband which threatens the security of the mission.

The conflict, construction and execution is done with finesse, with well-planned development and care. Most memorable is the kick sequence, including the fight scene which Entertainment Weekly called "Zero Gravity Fisticuffs." Also the tension in the pacing and editing draws out the desperation as each level is completed, entered and exited. Part of the execution is in the performance, including the humor most of which comes from Hardy and Gordon-Levitt and some from Paige, each who turn in flawless, real and emotional performances. Also the execution, whether in a comic or tragic story, emotional release is necessary connecting the audience to the action and the characters. Especially potent is the emotional resolution played between Maurice Fischer (Pete Postlewaite) and his son, that scene is incredibly lovely; gives me goosebumps every time.

This package is deserving of the credit it earned. It brilliantly helps the audience in its escapism, allowing us to live different lives for a while. The colors and atmosphere are rich and emotional and deep. The casting is pristine and attractive...and I love a great cast. This film is wonderful in all its components; it's gonna be an ageless film.

***

In: Marion Cotillard

Out: Leonardo Dicaprio

Coming Soon: Romeo and Juliet