There is such a debate about this movie, on side arguing that you can "get it" if you are intelligent enough and the other arguing there is nothing to "get." Why don't you all stop worrying about whether or not you get it or not. Movies are art, and art is open to different interpretations. There is no right or wrong, and to steal a quote that I loved, (I can't remember exactly "Bad Art is even better because it documents human failure") sorry that quote wasn't really necessary and didn't fit my point exactly but I was just dying to use it.
Anyway my main interpretation of the movie is to show the intricacies of the human brain. A man went through a serious shock/trauma, going unconscious, allowing his subconscious to come out and play, the movie demonstrates the power of the subconscious, pulling out stored tidbits of information from the brain received by the human senses. The movie documents not the man's physical struggle to stay alive but his mental one. With his brain setting up a maze of obstacles to get past to regain consciousness/life. In this maze of his mind I think his actual self represents death or the coming of death, and he is in the form of the psychologist (mcgregor) trying to work his way through the maze to fight to stay alive. I think this is why we saw the movie makes such a point of showing us that they are the same person (in his mind) I think he has chosen mcgreggor as his self because in his subconscious he knows that in the real life mcgreggor is trying to save him. As for the powers, it is his mind of course he is able to control what is happening. Leaving one end untangled, the de ja vu with mcgregor and watts at the end. To go with the flow of this interpretation, that the movie is demonstrating the power of the human mind, perhaps subconsciously the mans dream was able to affect the other people involved, through psychic powers, I'm not sure on this, this is a tough cookie.
Of course another interpretation of this movie could possibly be two parrelel worlds colliding through an event (car crash) I don't know for sure I can only make my own interpretations, and I like this movie because of the different ways it can be interpreted, unlike most Hollywood movies, which leave no room for the imagination. This is art, good art: 8/10
Anyway my main interpretation of the movie is to show the intricacies of the human brain. A man went through a serious shock/trauma, going unconscious, allowing his subconscious to come out and play, the movie demonstrates the power of the subconscious, pulling out stored tidbits of information from the brain received by the human senses. The movie documents not the man's physical struggle to stay alive but his mental one. With his brain setting up a maze of obstacles to get past to regain consciousness/life. In this maze of his mind I think his actual self represents death or the coming of death, and he is in the form of the psychologist (mcgregor) trying to work his way through the maze to fight to stay alive. I think this is why we saw the movie makes such a point of showing us that they are the same person (in his mind) I think he has chosen mcgreggor as his self because in his subconscious he knows that in the real life mcgreggor is trying to save him. As for the powers, it is his mind of course he is able to control what is happening. Leaving one end untangled, the de ja vu with mcgregor and watts at the end. To go with the flow of this interpretation, that the movie is demonstrating the power of the human mind, perhaps subconsciously the mans dream was able to affect the other people involved, through psychic powers, I'm not sure on this, this is a tough cookie.
Of course another interpretation of this movie could possibly be two parrelel worlds colliding through an event (car crash) I don't know for sure I can only make my own interpretations, and I like this movie because of the different ways it can be interpreted, unlike most Hollywood movies, which leave no room for the imagination. This is art, good art: 8/10