Alexandra Libro
Ms. Taylor
APLAC
12 February 2012
Inception
Christopher
Nolan’s Inception won the Movie of
the Year award from the American Film Institute in 2010. The movie also won an
array of awards ranging from a Critics’
Choice Award to an Oscar (Awards for Inception) . Inception did
not hold back anything in this futuristic thriller. I believe this is the
greatest movie of the 21st century because it makes fantasy
tangible. The film features actors including the famous Leonardo DiCaprio, and
other rising stars. Inception is not simply a movie about dreaming, it is a
glimpse into an altered reality.
More
specifically, Inception is about a man trying to come home to his children, but
it’s a bit more complicated than that. Mr. Cobb’s job is getting secrets and
valuable information from people in their dreams, also known as “extraction.”
Mr. Cobb is offered an opportunity to come back to the United States if he can
plant an idea in the head of the future CEO of Fischer industries, which
involves the opposite of “extraction”: “inception.” The only thing that can get
in his way is his dead wife, who he can’t get out of his subconscious.
Perhaps
it is the acting that has captured the attention of such a wide audience. Inception profited $825.5 million
worldwide: the 29th highest ever (Inception) . A movie needs
strong actors and real emotions to capture such a large audience. Maybe I’m
being a little biased when I refer to the acting, because Leonardo DiCaprio is
one of my favorite actors. He has a seemingly effortless ability to become his
characters, and his performance was astounding in Inception as well his past roles. Ellen Page as Ariadne also did a
remarkable job becoming the mediator between the real world and fantasy. I have
to say though, Marion Cotillard as Mal, the dead wife of Mr. Cobb, had the most
heart-felt performance (Full Cast and Crew for Inception) . She expelled
emotion through her facial expressions as well as her tears and her passion could
frighten and drown you in your own tears as well. When I rate movies, acting is
one the first aspects I judge because the characters are the ones that tell the
story, and without them the whole movie seems too much like fiction.
To
me, a film becomes realistic with a touch of drama, and since this movie was
filled with it I left the theatre thinking I could actually control the crazy
stuff that happens when we’re dreaming. Who’s to say a man can’t be tortured by
his dead wife in his dreams? I think that is closer to reality than many
movies. The drama I really connected with in this movie was between Mr. Cobb
(Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mal (Marion Cotillard) (Full Cast and Crew for Inception) . The guilt that was
exacerbating Cobb made Mal thrive as she sabotaged his life in and out of his
dreams. The flashback to them in their prime and then after the dream world
ripped them apart epitomized the emotions the two had towards each other. I
thought the drama was so compelling that I forgot all about “inception” and “extraction”
because those moments seemed so real. Plus, the intensity that Inception possessed made up for the lack
of humor, and I think that laughing in this movie would be offsetting to the
film’s overall purpose. Instead I found humor in the overall concept. How on
earth could having a dream within a dream within a dream be so believable and
comprehendible?
Inception
also does a phenomenal job building suspense. After all, a movie needs some
suspense to be called a thriller. Inception
is opened with a scene from the last ten minutes from the movie, so right from
the start you are trying to piece together what is going to happen. The movie
also starts with Mal disrupting an “extraction” job, which leaves you
questioning her relationship with Cobb. A suspenseful film will also foreshadow
the ending so when you see it the whole movie comes together, like the prologue
of Romeo and Juliet that foretells the struggles that will go on throughout the
play.
Inception is
not just a suspenseful movie with spectacular actors, but one of the most
creative movies of our time. In a decade where everything originated from a book,
a real life story, or was revived from a classic, Inception is a breath of fresh air. Christopher Nolan also known
for his writing in the Dark Knight opens
the world up to something new; something worth seeing (Full Cast and
Crew for Inception) . Nolan must also explain “inception”
throughout the movie in a way that is understandable and not a boring
definition. Christopher Nolan writes that, “An idea is like a virus; resilient;
highly contagious. The smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define
or destroy you.” I was captivated by
these words because they not only apply to a dreamer but any viewer, and as
soon as you hear them you know they are crucial. They also emphasize how
dangerous dreaming can be and the effects it can have after one stops dreaming.
The way he defines a concept so unfamiliar to us is fascinating and exemplifies
his writing capabilities as well as directing skills. After all, Inception did win the Writers Guild of
America award for best original screenplay (Awards for Inception) .
I
may be a sucker for drama and a bit of romance, but I am sure that much of the
movie’s audience consisted of special effects fanatics. Inception won an Oscar for best visual effects and its competition
did not even come close (Awards for Inception) . The concept of
dreams within dreams can lead to building collapses, distortions, avalanches,
no gravity, spinning rooms, explosions. It is unique because of how much of the
action the actors were involved in, rather than computer graphics. For
instance, the scene of a van falling in slow motion off a bridge into the water
was filmed in real life. The van was shot out of a cannon, and later when the
van hit the water the actors had to use a scuba tank to stay in the water for
almost five minutes (Inception) . Christopher Nolan
made Inception as real as possible
and I thought it translated well to the audience.
Finally,
the ending is something that everyone talks about after they watch Inception. I can’t say the ending, but
it is still a mystery to the people who have seen the film. Every movie leaves
its audience with something to think about, what better than a question of
reality?
Works Cited
Awards for Inception. n.d. 12 Febuary 2012.
Full Cast and Crew for Inception. n.d. 12 February 2012.
Inception.
n.d. 12 February 2012.
I think that you did a wonderful job with your evaluation. First of all, I liked how you started your evaluation with facts and cited organizations such as the American Film Institute, which showed your use of ethos. Your use of logos was seen when you mentioned how much money the film grossed and how it ranks with other movies. You continued to use ethos when you referenced all the awards the movie won and was nominated for. I thought your analysis was really in depth and you did a fantastic job with it. It was clear to me that you really love this movie and you seemed passionate about your position. I also liked how you addressed any opposition when you mentioned that the movie wasn't humorous. Next, it was great that you ended the evaluation with a rhetorical question, because that keeps your audiences engaged in your piece until the very end and leaves them with something to think about. Lastly, you mentioned your opinions about the subject quite often. While there is nothing wrong about this, it may be beneficial to present your opinion as a fact, a technique I saw when researching different movie reviews. This way, your evaluation sounds more authoritative and your audience will be more likely to listen and agree with your views. Overall, I think you did a spectacular job on your evaluation! :)
ReplyDeleteNice evaluation! You picked good elements to analyze, and I liked that you talked a lot about Mal in particular--she really was important. You addressed all the opposition and talked about how it appealed to all sorts of audiences, which was great, and I like that you made sure to mention the famous ending without giving it away. Most importantly, you made me want to go watch it again!
ReplyDeleteI feel that this evaluation was very accurate and would help convince this movie of being a truly great movie. The reason that this evaluation is good it it really appeals to ethos, pathos and logos. The way in which it appeals to the logos is by starting off by talking about how the movie got so many rewards. This really impresses the reader showing them that this is the view of all that this movie is great. Also this movie appeals to ethos by talking about how the writer of the movie has made many famous movies like this one which shows the writer has authority with making movies.Finally it appeals to pathos by showing how emotional this movie is like when talking about how one character Mal could really show her emotions which will make the viewer feel the same. Also this critique was really written because you really did a good job at talking to the audience. However one way to make this critique more effective would be to define what a good movie needs.
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