After seeing The Matrix (1999-also reviewed) in 35MM at The Electric Cinema in Birmingham, (the oldest cinema in the UK) I was happy to learn of another upcoming 35MM screening taking place at the venue. Last having seen the movie on DVD in 2011, I picked up a Ginception cocktail, and got set to intercept.
View on the film:
Leading the team through each level of the dreams after a charming appearance from Sir Michael as his wise teacher Miles, Leonardo DiCaprio gives an excellent performance as Cobb, who gains the trust of Robert Fischer, (played with a live-wire nervousness by Cillian Murphy, a regular collaborator with the film maker) by covering himself with the charms of a gentleman thief. Desperately trying to stop his memories from entering the dreams, DiCaprio chips away at Cobb's shield, until the years of guilt and grief that Cobb has been pushing down, pour out, and risks leaving the team stuck in a nightmare.
The first of two times he would work with the film maker, Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives a very good performance as Arthur, with Gordon-Levitt, (who after working with her on Havoic (2005-also reviewed), reunited with Anne Hathaway on Dark Knight Rises) expressing Arthur's quick-witted ingenuity, to keep the dreams up in the air. Also starting a run with the film maker, Tom Hardy gives a wonderful performance as Eames, who stands out in the team, thanks to Hardy giving Eames a nice line in dead-pan sarcasm, which becomes more visible, as Eames begins to questions Cobb's plans on how to get through the dream levels.
Spending almost 8 years dreaming of doing this project, writer/ directing auteur Christopher Nolan & his regular cinematographer of this era Wally Pfister bring Cobb, his team and Robert Fischer's dreams to life against the backdrop of Hans Zimmer's thunderous score. Nolan unveils weaving revolving camera moves, around razor-sharp symmetric image compositions, (both major recurring motifs of Nolan's) creating a brittle Thriller atmosphere, when everyone begins to become submerged in the dreams.
Inspired by On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969-also reviewed) for the snowy final, Nolan and Pfister make the Action set-pieces shine, via gliding panning shots displaying the masterful blend of CGI and practical effects, which land on unsettling wide-shots, capturing the weight of water crashing through the dreams.
Attacking Cobb and the team with the fear of a dream turning into a nightmare, Nolan experiments with the altering of film speeds, (something he would continue exploring in Tenet (2020-also reviewed)) for the cracking, gravity-defying hand-to-hand combat sequences, which emphasis the disorientating state each team member becomes gripped by, when they discover that if they get killed in a fight when dreaming, they will die in real life.
Intercepting a business deal, the screenplay by Nolan wonderfully blends the Heist Thriller genre with mind-bending Sci-Fi, thanks to Nolan drawing detailed outlines of the unique ability that each team member possess, (from Ariadne's maze making and Arthur's technical skills, to Cobb's slick image, getting everyone to stay on track towards the end goal) which gloriously go haywire, from the curveballs of the dreams placing the bonds of the team under intense pressure, when they stand on the edge, of questioning their realites.
Taking a lift to (as it is called in the film) the "prison" of Cobb's mind, Nolan superbly strips away the team, in order to explore the troubled, lonely portrait of Cobb. Tearing himself apart as he struggles to restrain his memories from seeping into the dreams built for Robert Fischer, Nolan unveils that behind Cobb's obsession to perform the perfect heist, is a suffocating guilt, fueled by a grief that Cobb is refusing to confront and mourn, (major recurring themes in Nolan's works) instead locking it all behind bars, until he is intercepted.
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