Inception bases its idea on multiple levels of reality that the viewer has to distinguish the real from the dream world. The complexity of this film leaves the viewer lost in the media causing them to contradict themselves to think ‘Are we in a dream?’ and ‘How can you tell?’. Inception thrills the viewer with action, but because inception is constantly changing and switching from reality it draws us, the audience closer and more indulged to the film.
Inception is a dream in a dream in a dream but it gets you to think perhaps that the whole story is a dream and all those other dreams are just contained inside one dream and none of the story is actually happening. Leonardo dicaprio could be dreaming the whole thing up but we as a viewer don’t know. Throughout the film there are hints to this and against but most noticeably is the ending where Leonardo spins his ‘totem’ to see if he is dreaming or not and the film cuts out before we know. This is very similar to the film blade runner where Deckard is hinted that he also could be a replicate but it is up to the audiences opinion to whether he is or not. This in some ways breaks the 4th wall because now it is up to the audience to not just watch the film but to participate in the creation of the film.
Trickery is used to its full potential in Inception because it doesn’t have a real villain of whom plots against the ‘heroes’ other than the humans sub conscious, who will attack everyone but its self. I think this is key because does this link us humans back to our primitive state, in that will instinctively believe every man/woman for themselves. It makes the audience wonder whether us as a human race are just selfish and don’t think of others just to get benefits for ourselves.
The film also surrounds it self in ‘Hyperreality’ with effects such as warping the world to a preference the ‘architect’ creates and the multiple worlds that the characters venture of whom can seamlessly travel through using little if no effort. Also time is constantly distorted depending on the ‘Level of the Dream’, so the deeper in they go the fast time travels creating not only more Hyperreality but also the complexity of the story which you can only understand if watched multiple times.
This film makes the viewer wonder if they are dreaming watching this film or if they are actually there watching the film. Could it be the sub conscious telling the viewing they are in a dream by creating a film about dreams?
All these ideas make Inception incredibly postmodern with trickery, complicity, lack of a villain and the delivery of the film.
