The films that he has written delve into the confusion of the human psyche even more, in a way that challenges and delights the audience as they are obliged to unravel what is going on. Memento (2000) and Following (1998) are further examples of films that are nearly impossible to make sense of for much of the duration, until the end of the film when all is made clear and every detail fits together in a beautiful puzzle. It makes for an incredibly enjoyable experience every time.
And yet, it seems that Inception might be able to blow all of his previous achievements out of the water. Inception is a gorgeous film that seems to be cut from new cloth so to speak. Upon watching the trailer, it is difficult to know what it might be about, and yet it is intriguing enough to invoke a deadly curiosity in what it might entail. In this review it is impossible for me to feel good about relaying the basic plot, because it best to enter the movie having no idea what is going on. Once watching it, it is difficult to disentangle what may be happening, but just as with all of Nolan's films you will understand what it all means as it progresses. Only this time, the plot becomes clear by about a third of the way through, and so for the rest of the time, the story has free rein to explore the concepts it has put in place. The characters have time to evolve and show such great potential for expansion that it makes one wish there could be a sequel of some kind.
Leonardo DiCaprio has gone so far beyond the cheesy teenage-esque romantic character that it makes me feel as though that stage of his career never was. He has become a true talent in the world of acting, capable of being an excellent tragic hero, and of becoming a convincing figure on screen. All of the characters were incredibly well-cast including Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy, and yet DiCaprio displays such a huge margin of growth that it's almost hard to imagine how he was. Yeah, that happened...
Aside from everything else this movie has to offer, one of the prime elements is the sound editing. The Dark Knight already displayed such prowess at making explosions sound completely real, and breaking glass, crashing cars, fists colliding sound completely stunning. It is much the same in Inception. The sound of a man's head colliding with the windshield of an oncoming car sounded so believable that I physically flinched. Also visually, the effect produced by bending the reality of the world, and the motion especially of water is downright beautiful. The story is amazing, the execution of it is amazing, and together it creates a true piece of art. In a time where there is nothing but remake after remake, and one book adaptation after another, it was refreshing to see something wholly original, and visually outstanding. This one gets 5/5 Staryus.
