Somnambulance chasers: DiCaprio and Page in Inception
So-how do I best describe Christopher Nolan’s boardroom thriller/sci-fi mindbender, Inception, without sounding like I’m off my meds? Executive Suitemeets Solaris ? No? The Bad Sleep Well meets Fantastic Voyage? Still too obscure? What’s that…I’m showing my age? OK, fine, I see how you are. How about…Duplicity meets Dark City?
Think a heist film-in reverse. Reverse, forward, up, down-it’s just another day punching the clock and free-falling through the looking glass, for professional “extractor” Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio). Because you see, his “job” is not necessarily grounded in everyday reality (kind of like a movie critic). You know how some people are so adept at what they do that we say that they could do their job in their sleep? That’s the only way Cobb can do his job-in his sleep. He extracts secrets from dreams. Other people’s dreams.
I’m a spy, in the house of love I know the dream that you’re dreamin’ of I know the word that you long to hear I know your deepest, secret fear -The Doors
What Jim Morrison said. Except “love” rarely enters the picture (alright, sometimes it does-but no spoilers). For the most part, Cobb is usually working for some evil corporate bastard, who wants to steal information from some other evil corporate bastard. He gets a lot of these gigs, because he’s tops in his field (of dreams). This is a shadowy world to work in, literally and figuratively, and it has caught up with him. He’s still for hire, but he’s also on the lam, so he has to choose his employers very carefully. When a tycoon (Ken Watanabe) offers him a unique challenge (to plant a thought, as opposed to stealing one) he can’t resist the allure of pulling off the perfect “inception”. Like any heist movie worth its salt, the protagonist must now of course assemble a crack team of specialists (aren’t you glad I didn’t say, “dream team”?). In addition to his long time partner in crime (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Cobb enlists a newbie (Ellen Page) to be the “architect”. Her job is to design the dream world that the team will need to navigate in order to plant the thought into the subconscious of their target (Cillian Murphy) without arousing the “suspicions” of his, erm, subconscious self. Suffice it to say, much cerebral copulation ensues, with enough conundrums to start a fistfight in heaven between Freud, Jung, Adler and Perls. Not to mention our hero sorting through gestalt issues regarding his late wife (Marion Cotillard) while still on the clock (much to the chagrin of fellow team members).
Nolan (who wrote as well as directed) has proven in the past to be a consistently intelligent, imaginative and inventive filmmaker; whether working with a modest budget (Following, Memento) or blockbuster-sized bankroll (The Dark Knight), which is why I was disappointed to see him stumble here (more on that in a moment). From a production standpoint, the film is extremely well-crafted; Wally Pfister’s cinematography, Lee Smith’s editing, and the production design by Guy Hendrix Dyas are all outstanding, and the CGI work is impressive. The cast (which also includes support from Michael Caine, Tom Berenger and Pete Postlethwaite) does a fine job (although leading man DiCaprio, while certainly adequate, has done better work) but…here’s the rub: For a story that takes place in the boundless universe of the subconscious, a wholly “other” world of symbols, signs and wonders, there’s too much reliance on standard-issue action film tropes, and with a 2 ½ hour running time, it starts to feel like an endless loop of an action movie within an action movie, into infinity (I’m sure Nolan was aiming more for the dream within a dream). The film lurches toward thought-provoking Tartovsky territory, but ends up in shoot ‘em up Bruckheimer land. This is not an altogether bad film, but considering all the talent and money involved, it’s a squandered opportunity, and that’s a real shame.
Yes, you’re still dreaming! Mr. Nolan is certainly not the first filmmaker to toy around with the idea of reality literally invading dreams (or vice versa). Here are five more picks:
Dark City-I know I’m setting myself up for a fan boy jihad by admitting this in public, but The Matrix just never did it for me (visually impressive, but too cold and portentous). However, this similarly-themed 1998 sci-fi puzzler from director/co-writer Alex Proyas does. Rufus Sewell stars as an amnesiac, desperately trying to figure out why he lives in a city of perpetual night. A creepy consortium called The Strangers might have the answer (that’s the short version). Some might argue that the narrative deals more with telekinesis and mind control, as opposed to dreams, but the film’s haunting, oft-repeated catchphrase (“sleep, now”) is close enough. As many times as I’ve seen it, there are still elements of the story I don’t fully understand; I think that’s what makes it so compellingly enigmatic.
Dreamscape-OK, this 1984 film may not have dated so well (as a recent re-watch confirmed), but it remains a guilty pleasure for me. Dennis Quaid stars as a gifted psychic who is recruited by government spooks to be a human guinea pig for a project that enables people with his abilities to enter other people’s dreams (starting with the guy who lives in the White House, whose been having debilitating nightmares-could you imagine?!). Sort of a cross between Brainstorm and The President’s Analyst; it’s pretty fluffy on the sci-fi angle, but still pleasantly diverting. Directed by Joseph Ruben, who also helmed one of my favorite 80s sleepers, the 1987 courtroom drama True Believer.
The Lathe of Heaven-Bruce Davison stars as George Orr, a chronic insomniac who has become convinced that his nightly dreams are affecting reality. Depressed and sleep-deprived, he overdoses on medication and is court-ordered to seek psychiatric help from Dr. Haber (Kevin Conway), who specializes in experimental dream research. When Haber realizes that George does in fact have the ability to literally change the world with his “affective dreams”, he begins to “suggest” reality-altering scenarios to his hypnotized patient. The good doctor’s motives are initially altruistic; but you know what they say about the road to Hell. Adapted from Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel, it was produced for TV and originally aired on PBS in 1979. Long coveted as a cult item, it is available on DVD. Don’t be put off by the cheesy production values; it’s smartly written and very well acted.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (Original version)-There have been so many spin-offs (plus the 2010 reboot) over the past 26 years, that it’s easy to forget how inventive and truly original horror-meister Wes Craven’s 1984 original was. The concept of a dead serial killer who can (literally) murder you by invading your dream time still gives me the willies; that’s why I haven’t bothered with any of the sequels (I would have serious concern for the stability of anyone who is obsessed with the entire franchise). Robert Englund’s characterization (and the imaginative prosthetic work by the make-up artists) instantly established the evil Freddy Krueger as one of the all-time great horror villains.
Paprika-“Mind blowing” doesn’t even begin to describe this Disney-on-acid/murder mystery/psychological sci fi-horror story from 2007. It is anime master Satoshi Kon’s most visually ambitious work to date, with stunning use of color and imagery. A team of scientists develops an interface called the “DC mini” that facilitates the transference of dreams from one person to another. This “dream machine” is designed for use by psychotherapists, allowing them to literally share a patient’s dreams and take a closer look under the hood. In the wrong hands, this could potentially become a very dangerous tool. Guess what happens. Far superior to Inception in every way (my full review here).
