Film Reviews

Inception: A Philosophical Take

By: Elik Rain

What if everything you did was simply a dream—within a dream?

(published before on another site, but records have been damaged, as far as I can tell)

This is the main question that Inception (2010, Directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Leonardo di Caprio, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, and Marion Cotillard) attempts to answer, in a delightful metaphysical way. Cobb (Leonardo di Caprio) is initially unable to return home due to his wife, Mal’s (Marion Cotillard) framed murder. Now given a second chance, Cobb is told to perform ‘inception’ on the heir of a large corporation, and influence him to break apart his father’s company. In the process, Cobb and his friends take out the ‘subconscious’ in Robert’s (Cillian Murphy) mind, warping the heir’s thoughts towards his father. What remains particularly startling about this film is the number of philosophical questions it raises, such as the question of knowledge and whether or not reality is as we perceive it.

The movie’s recurring theme lies in its main question: “How do you know what reality is, and how do you define absolute truth if everything is relative?” If everything is, indeed, possible to envelop in dreams within dreams, and if ‘ideas’ could be planted in one’s mind, what’s to say our idea of ‘free will’ or our methods of ‘choosing our future’ could be right? How do we know whether or not we’re within a dream, and does this matter at all in the end? This film also leads us to question the truth of knowledge—we could be living in lives full of lies, due to the work of (people I dub) ‘inceptionists’, who make it their duty to change the way we perceive our world. In this manner, it is similar to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, since Plato believes that people chained to see only the shadows of the truth will grow up to believe that this is reality. However, they are actually living in a projected world; one that allows them to view the silhouettes of passersby and animals, never to understand the genuine form of the shadows on the wall.

This is how the movie, Inception, introduces us to the idea of skepticism, and encourages us to always question and analyze our surroundings—pushing us to break out of the chains which tie us to the cave. For instance, Cobb’s totem symbolizes the dual realities, or the two different worlds which can exist within one dimension—he uses it to help him discover if he is in the dream world or in reality. Clearly, throughout the movie, we see that the differences between the two realms are distinct and heartbreaking; there are no bridges connecting them. Even until the end, we’re forced to question and hinge on that last scene before the credits roll in- in a compelling manner which truly keeps Inception true to its premise- as a deep and mind-bending film.

Inception introduces many philosophical concepts, and yet appeals to the young and old; from the distinct questions it raises to its profound and critical content, I believe that this film is truly remarkable, and should be watched for years to come.

Verdict: 4.5/5

Note: a more detailed review of Inception will be coming up—with regards to the music soundtrack, and some analysis of script, camera angle, and how they all come together in Inception!

More Reviews coming soon!