‘Inception’: Plan to see it twice (4/5)

Inception

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Paige, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout.
Running time: 2 hours, 28 minutes

If you’ve seen the previews, then this next point shouldn’t be much of a surprise: “Inception” is a mind-bending experience and is definitely a movie to watch twice. It’s nice to see original ideas again.

Dreams themselves are odd things to consider. They’ve long been seen as images from our subconscious — a mysterious force inside us that seems to know when we’re stressed and always conveniently knows what our biggest fears are (and, too, our deepest fantasies).

Director Christopher Nolan took the idea of random, internal thoughts and images to a new realm — a controllable arena in which your deepest secrets are vulnerable to the trained intruder.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the tortured Dominic Cobb with a dark past. Cobb is an expert in the art of extraction, or the ability to retrieve information out of others’ dreams. A man approaches Cobb with an offer — implant an idea into another man’s mind, and Cobb will be reunited with his children.

But implanting an idea is much harder than retrieving one — in order for an idea to stick, the dreamer must believe it is his or her own, organic thought.

Cobb assembles a team to help him break into the guarded mind of business heir Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy, “Red Eye”). He joins together with architect Ariadne (the fantastic Ellen Page, “Juno”) and research leader Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

A trick to Inception is to know who is dreaming and, therefore, who is in control. Also important is whose dream you are entering, because their subconscious could sense and attack you.

What makes entering Fischer’s mind so much more difficult is the use of sedation and the dream-within-a-dream stages. Also, Fischer has been trained against such interlopers, and so must be convinced to lower his guard.

The imagery of “Inception” will raise this movie above many others. Zero-gravity fights, dream building and imaginative scenarios will keep you amazed. But what will keep you invested is the story of Cobb and his wife, Mal (beautifully played by Marion Cotillard).

Leonardo DiCaprio proved long ago that he was more than just a pretty face (“Gangs of New York” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” are simply fantastic films), and though he’ll always be haunted by the memory of his blockbuster role as “Titanic’s” dreamboat Jack Dawson, DiCaprio has managed time and again to pull out amazing performances. His portrayal of the tortured Cobb is worthy of admiration.

I have to commend Joseph Gorden-Levitt. I’m used to seeing his charismatic personality shine through in his early works “Third Rock from the Sun,” “10 Things I Hate About You,” and, more recently, “(500) Days of Summer.” But his restrained role as Arthur demonstrates his desire (and, more important, his ability) to build on the more serious side of human emotion (his part as Rex Lewis in “G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra” was a good jumping off point for him in this aspect, even if the movie itself wasn’t great).

“Inception” is wonderfully refreshing and a great example of thought-provoking film. The visuals are astonishing, the characters are memorable and the actors are superb. This is easily one of the best movies of 2010 — but looking at what’s come out so far, there hasn’t been much competition.

4 of 5 stars