Video: It's a mindbender!

"Inception"

By: Holley Sinn

Verdict: Approved!

If you like to think....like, you really enjoy pondering something until your brain hurts and you need a beer or a mild sedative, then "Inception" should go at the top of your summer viewing list. Much like "The Matrix", Christopher Nolan's epic subconscious traveling adventure is layered - a cinematic onion full of symbolism, psychology and a perspective on the power of suggestion. And, in true Nolan fashion, despite the scope of the effects involved and the sheer grandeur of the film, the acting shines brightest. To be brief, this film is just "big"....conceptually, philosophically and in its delivery.

"Inception" stars Leonardo DiCaprio as "Cobb", a mercenary dream extractor who steals ideas from his victims while they sleep at the behest of wealthy businessmen and such. He and his partner, Arthur, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, are given the opportunity to do the opposite. The head of a small energy corporation, Saito, played by Ken Watanabe, is desperate to keep an industry giant from sweeping up his company and creating a monopoly, and to ensure this doesn't happen, he needs Cobb to place an idea...a suggestion really...in the subconscious of the young man who has only recently inherited that company - Robert Fischer, played by Cillian Murphy.

In order to fulfill this difficult, if not impossible, mission, Cobb must assemble a team. Ellen Page plays "Ariadne", his architect, responsible for creating the dream space which the dreamer's subconscious then populates. Eames, played by Tom Hardy, is responsible for suggesting personas - characters with which the dreamer is already familiar. And, Yusuf, played by Dileep Rao, must find a way to drug not only the dreamer, but the inception team, so that the subconscious mind can be reached. However, there is a foil of which only two team members are aware. Cobb's late wife Mal, played by Marion Cotillard, frequently escapes Cobb's own dreams to infiltrate his missions, causing upheaval in the system and great danger to the team and the dreamer.

Cobb chooses to involve Ariadne in the dream state, which would not normally have been the case, because she discovers his weakness and recognizes the effect it could have on the mission. The finer plots points provide the sense of discovery and possibility that really define this film, so I won't delve too deeply in order to preserve your movie-going experience. The very ideas suggested in the story are mind-bending enough, but add in the references to classic greek mythology (Ariadne, the dream architect, is named for the Greek goddess known as the "Mistress of the Labyrinth") and religious history (Yusuf is named for the great dream interpreter in the Quran), and "Inception" immediately becomes a multi-viewing phenomenon. It is simply impossible to take it all in during just one sitting.

The film is a clean two and a half hours long, and there are no real opportunities for a bathroom break because of the complex, quickly paced nature of the story, so you might want to skip the soda on this one. "Inception" is rated PG-13 for some mildly disturbing imagery, and it is a "must-see" this summer....and, I think we can watch out for a re-release in early January for Oscar season.