This concept makes for a structure as intricate as can be expected from director Christopher Nolan – each level of the dream operates on a different time scale, and events that happen to the sleeper can affect the content of the dream. For example, when the dreamer is falling, there is no gravity in the dream, resulting in one particularly spectacular fight sequence. The interactions between the different levels are well-handled, with enough markers to remind the viewer of what is going on ‘outside’ the dream. Indeed, it is impressive how the film manages to dazzle with its complexity while still not leaving the audience behind.
Nolan also finds hugely imaginative ways to represent the subconscious mind, to visually stunning effect.
DiCaprio, one of my favourite actors, is impressive, and there is a starry supporting cast, including Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Ellen Page gives a mature performance as Cobb’s protégé the aptly-named* Ariadne, a talented trainee architect who he tempts away from her studies to learn to ‘build’ the settings for the dreams he enters. Her character in part serves as a plot device so that the processes of Cobb’s work can be explained to the audience, and to force him to face up to the past that is haunting him, but she brings a depth to the role, and there are some great sequences as she learns to manipulate the landscape of dreams, discovering the joy of “pure creation”.
*Ariadne was a character in Greek myth who guided Theseus out of the labyrinth of the Minotaur.
