For this assignment, I have chosen the movie Inception and watched it online on the GoToTub platform, HD quality. In my opinion, this work of art is one of the best science fiction films of the last century. Directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the film chronicles a thief who steals personal ideas and corporate secrets from the psyche of his victims by means of dream-sharing technology. The movie explores issues such as family dynamics and crime from a psychoanalytic perspective. Apart from the subject matter, Inception excels in its production design, cinematography, sound, and costumes.
Despite a common trend to use computer technologies and introduce amazing special effects, Nolan tried to apply as many real-life settings as possible in production design. Although it was hard to avoid the impact of technologies in scenes with building destruction and changes in the environment, several strong attempts to share true human feelings were made. For example, there is a scene where Cobb uses the tub full of water to be awakened and where the whole dream is filled with water suddenly (Inception). The team had several water cannons outside the setting to shoot the actors and cause real emotions. This choice successfully worked because viewers may unintentionally hold their breath and feel the power of water around.
The movie uses high-quality cinematography, with the director applying the anamorphic format, which produced great visual effects such as the miniature of the mountain fortress. The production has used computer-generated imageries minimally, and the only scene that has employed them is where a fight takes place in zero gravity. Wally Pfister was hired as a cinematographer for the movie, and his work was characterized by a brilliant choice of wide and panning shots and careful camera movements and light choices. For example, blue colors were chosen for the first level of dream, warm colors were applied to the second level, and grey tones were observed in the third level (Inception). This element was properly developed in the movie and worked well, which is justifying the possibility of provoking certain emotions in a viewer.
Hans Zimmer was responsible for sound choice in Inception, and his decision to intrude a guitar sound that resembles those of Ennio Morricone positively affected the audience. The guitar sounds worked for me because they resonate with the tense nature of the film. In addition, the impact of the soundtrack, French “Non, Je ne regretted rien,” which translated as “No, I do not have any regrets,” cannot be ignored (Inception). The song by Edith Piaf was the best choice for this film because the director has used it to accurately time most of the dreams. Listening to the song during the dream scenes heightens the mood of the film, the impossibility to distinguish the dream from reality, and the necessity to accept everything as it is at the moment.
Finally, the costumes used in the film go hand in hand with the internal machinations of the plot. For example, in the final scene, the protagonist’s children wear the same clothes as they wore during his dreams about them throughout the film (Inception). This choice and repetition help establish the necessary emotional tone and the character’s confusion. Costuming worked excellently in this movie because it is closely related to the way of how the characters develop or, in this case, lack of development due to being trapped in their dreams.
Although Inception was introduced about a decade ago, this movie continues attracting people’s attention around the globe due to its authenticity and originality. Nolan definitely succeeded in introducing some rare cinematic conventions in Hollywood. Only a few film conventions have been borrowed from earlier films. The interesting storyline is emphasized by high-quality production, cinematography, sound, and costume choices. I would give Inception a 10/10 rating based on the elements under analysis because each detail has its purpose and specific influence on the viewer.
Work Cited
Inception. Directed by Christopher Nolan, performance by Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Tom Hardy, Warner Brothers, 2010.