Blakeson - Writer

Cardiff-based film, theatre and gig reviews, cultural ramblings, whingeing, short films, etc.

Monday, July 26, 2010

"Inception"

Leonardo DiCaprio seems to be choosing to play a lot of troubled widowers recently, which might suggest that he has commitment issues. His latest is in Christopher Nolan’s “Inception”, a highly inventive take on the “one last heist” sub-genre of action movies, set in various characters’ subconscious minds. Early reviews suggested that this was a miraculous reinvention of commercial film as art; the second wave tended to argue that it wasn’t quite as clever as it thought it was. It’s certainly a magnificent achievement, playing with the dream-like nature of the cinematic experience with great audacity and awesome technical expertise, and at some points the confusion is delicious. There are long moments, however, such as the extensive “Ice Station Zebra” segment, where it’s simply wearisome. The performances and plot construction can’t be faulted, but general sensory overload meant that the emotional elements of the story failed to hit home for me. Nolan’s similarly mind-mangling “Memento” is an all-time favourite, perhaps because it’s a more low-key, human tale; “Inception” is a film to be admired rather than loved.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home