2010 - Inception
Being an actor is not exactly the most stable of careers. Unless you're an A-lister, work is often unpredictable and inconsistent, so one must celebrate the rare wins when they come. I'm happy to say I'll be in at least two feature films this year - one major Hollywood production that was filmed in Melbourne a couple of months ago (which I'd gladly gloat about if it weren't for the pesky NDA), and one Aussie indie film which I'm about to start shooting here in Sydney. Coincidentally, they're both set in the 1980s, though that is perhaps their only commonality - one is a sports drama, the other a crime dramedy. Likely, they'll both be released next year, so I'll keep you posted with screenings when the time comes.
Meanwhile, here are my thoughts on another 2010 Best Picture nominee...
Inception
Director:
Christopher Nolan
Screenplay:
Christopher Nolan
Starring:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine
Academy Awards:
8 nominations
4 wins, including Best Cinematography
There is probably no better word to describe Inception than "mind-bending." To wit, when we meet our protagonists, Dom (DiCaprio) and Arthur (Gordon-Levitt), they are inside the dream of businessman Saito (Watanabe), covertly collecting confidential information from his subconscious, an operation known as "extraction." Impressed with their accomplishment, Saito hires the dream invaders to attempt the opposite task, an "inception," which involves implanting a thought into the mind of the subject. Saito wants to convince his business rival's son, Robert Fischer (Murphy), to dismantle his father's company. In order to perform the inception, the team, which now includes forger Eames (Hardy) and dream architect Ariadne (Page), implement a risky triple-layer dream-within-a-dream and set forth on their mission.
Depending on your perspective, the opening scenes of the film are either beautifully mysterious or utterly confusing. Or maybe a little of both. Before long, though, there's a generous amount of blunt exposition to clear things up. Mind you, as we learn about the "rules" for navigating through dreams, many of the ideas seem suspiciously convenient and hard to swallow. Then again, perhaps that's a necessary result of such an innovative concept. After all, running around in other people's dreams is hardly a realistic notion, so I'll concede that the film is free to create its own verisimilitude.
In any case, if you can look past the convoluted plot and its contrived rules, there's a genuinely riveting offering underneath. Even if some of the details are a bit murky, the stakes are unambiguously clear as we cut back and forth between different dream levels. In fact, it's a testament to the script and the editing that, despite a story rife with potential confusion, we know exactly which dream level we're in at all times. Mind-bending, indeed.
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With legendary composer Hans Zimmer providing the score, the tension is palpable, though, for my taste, it occasionally feels a tad overdone when layered over lengthy dialogue scenes. Conversely, the soundtrack remains scoreless during one tense action sequence, which, to me, made it all the more gripping. And there's certainly no shortage of gripping action sequences. Perhaps the most famous of these, the zero-gravity hallway fight - which, incidentally, has a thrilling musical theme underneath, possibly negating what I just wrote earlier - is one of the most intensely cool fight scenes you're ever likely to see. Which is a neat segue into the film's spectacular visual effects. Along with some ingenious practical effects (as displayed in the aforementioned hallway fight), the Oscar-winning VFX team create some incredibly - here's that word again - mind-bending visuals, from the streets of Paris folding in half to the crumbling ruins of seaside skyscrapers.
The eclectic cast combine well together, but there are a few standouts in my book. Cillian Murphy (pictured, with DiCaprio) delivers a fragile portrayal of a conflicted man trying to escape his father's shadow. Tom Hardy is also exceptional with an intense yet disarming wit. Also worthy of mention is Marion Cotillard, who is in the fascinating position of creating a character that is mostly a figment of another person's imagination. It's a delicate performance that straddles the line between troubled and villainous. And perhaps coincidentally, she had won an Oscar a few years earlier for playing French singer Edith Piaf, whose song "Non, je ne regrette rien" plays an important role in the movie.
Meanwhile, here are my thoughts on another 2010 Best Picture nominee...
InceptionDirector:
Christopher Nolan
Screenplay:
Christopher Nolan
Starring:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine
Academy Awards:
8 nominations
4 wins, including Best Cinematography
There is probably no better word to describe Inception than "mind-bending." To wit, when we meet our protagonists, Dom (DiCaprio) and Arthur (Gordon-Levitt), they are inside the dream of businessman Saito (Watanabe), covertly collecting confidential information from his subconscious, an operation known as "extraction." Impressed with their accomplishment, Saito hires the dream invaders to attempt the opposite task, an "inception," which involves implanting a thought into the mind of the subject. Saito wants to convince his business rival's son, Robert Fischer (Murphy), to dismantle his father's company. In order to perform the inception, the team, which now includes forger Eames (Hardy) and dream architect Ariadne (Page), implement a risky triple-layer dream-within-a-dream and set forth on their mission.
Depending on your perspective, the opening scenes of the film are either beautifully mysterious or utterly confusing. Or maybe a little of both. Before long, though, there's a generous amount of blunt exposition to clear things up. Mind you, as we learn about the "rules" for navigating through dreams, many of the ideas seem suspiciously convenient and hard to swallow. Then again, perhaps that's a necessary result of such an innovative concept. After all, running around in other people's dreams is hardly a realistic notion, so I'll concede that the film is free to create its own verisimilitude.
In any case, if you can look past the convoluted plot and its contrived rules, there's a genuinely riveting offering underneath. Even if some of the details are a bit murky, the stakes are unambiguously clear as we cut back and forth between different dream levels. In fact, it's a testament to the script and the editing that, despite a story rife with potential confusion, we know exactly which dream level we're in at all times. Mind-bending, indeed.
.jpg)
With legendary composer Hans Zimmer providing the score, the tension is palpable, though, for my taste, it occasionally feels a tad overdone when layered over lengthy dialogue scenes. Conversely, the soundtrack remains scoreless during one tense action sequence, which, to me, made it all the more gripping. And there's certainly no shortage of gripping action sequences. Perhaps the most famous of these, the zero-gravity hallway fight - which, incidentally, has a thrilling musical theme underneath, possibly negating what I just wrote earlier - is one of the most intensely cool fight scenes you're ever likely to see. Which is a neat segue into the film's spectacular visual effects. Along with some ingenious practical effects (as displayed in the aforementioned hallway fight), the Oscar-winning VFX team create some incredibly - here's that word again - mind-bending visuals, from the streets of Paris folding in half to the crumbling ruins of seaside skyscrapers.The eclectic cast combine well together, but there are a few standouts in my book. Cillian Murphy (pictured, with DiCaprio) delivers a fragile portrayal of a conflicted man trying to escape his father's shadow. Tom Hardy is also exceptional with an intense yet disarming wit. Also worthy of mention is Marion Cotillard, who is in the fascinating position of creating a character that is mostly a figment of another person's imagination. It's a delicate performance that straddles the line between troubled and villainous. And perhaps coincidentally, she had won an Oscar a few years earlier for playing French singer Edith Piaf, whose song "Non, je ne regrette rien" plays an important role in the movie.
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