‘Inception’ Conversation (spoiler warning)
24th July 2010Feature, Film2 Comments
Inception
2010 • Rated PG-13
Directed by Christopher Nolan
[SPOILER WARNING: Don't read unless you've seen the movie]
Inception has been called “an elegantly cerebral story that is primal, compelling, and as visually disconcerting as it is completely captivating” as well as “a tremendously challenging and tremendously rewarding movie, the type that will have audiences talking — and debating — long after the credits roll.” After seeing it again last night I’m in the mood for some good mind-bending conversation. Here are some of the questions I believe the film leaves unanswered as well as a few of my best guesses:
1. Was Cobb still in a dream at the end of the film when the screen goes black and the top is still spinning?
Travis: The linchpin in this for me is the age of the kids at the end of the film. Throughout the story Cobb sees his son and daughter show up in his dreams presumably at the age they were when he had to flee the country. Then we have the sound of the children’s voices when Cobb is talking to them on the phone early in the film and the age of the kids at the end of the story, when he finally returns home. When I saw the movie the first time I thought the kids were the same age at the end of the movie as they were throughout the movie. However, upon my second viewing I thought they were older. IMDB comes to my assistance on this one. The cast is listed as follows:
Claire Geare ……………… Phillipa (3 years)
Magnus Nolan …………… James (20 months)
Taylor Geare …………….. Phillipa (5 years)
Johnathan Geare ……….. James (3 years)
According to the casting information (which would have been provided by the filmmaker), the kids are older at the end of the movie. This supports the idea that he is not dreaming as if they were still projections of his subconscious they would have remained the same age.
If there is better evidence against Cobb being back in reality then Mal (Cobb’s wife) was correct that they were still in a dream and her suicide really did taker her back to reality with the kids?”
2. Why was Sato so old and Cobb wasn’t in Limbo?
Travis: Along with this is “Why did Cobb wake up on the beach of Sato’s place in the lowest level (or Limbo)?” I’m confused on this one because time is supposed to go slower the deeper you go. This might be negated when it is Limbo you are entering rather than just another dream within a dream. Is it because Sato has lost his grip on reality and doesn’t know he’s dreaming while Cobb does? Why is Cobb so disoriented at this stage of the dream world? Anyone got any ideas on this one?
3. If Mal and Cobb grew old together in Limbo, and we see them as an elderly couple, why are they young when at the end of the time in limbo they kill themselves on the railroad tracks?
Travis: I got nothing. Any ideas?
What are your thoughts on these questions and what questions do you have of your own? Join the conversation in the comments section below.
2 responses to "‘Inception’ Conversation (spoiler warning)"
21:37 on July 25th, 2010
Have only seen the film once . . . so far!!! I think another bit of evidence that Cobb was in reality and not dreaming at the end was that, although the shot ends and the viewer does not get to see whether the top continues to spin or fall, the SOUND of the top spinning, which continues after the screen shot of the top ends, goes from the smooth sound of an ongoing spin to a longer, more irregular, scratchy sound that an object begins to make when it is nearing the end of its smooth tight spin and is about to begin to fall out of “orbit”.
Love your questions, this is definitely one film that has us all talking!
7:47 on August 15th, 2010
I could go either way. Cobb’s dad (?), I thought was in Paris at one point and I don’t understand why or how he made it back to the US. Also, is it me or were they wearing different clothes when they first entered the dream on the plane?
Musically, I think it points to Cobb waking up and it being reality at the end of the film because the score shifts significantly and it ‘feels’ a bit more like he’s woken up.