New Reviews: Inception & The Kids Are All Right

Maze-en-scene

Well, it has finally arrived. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have been eagerly awaiting this film for well over a year. However, so have legions of other dedicated film lovers and Nolan-fanboys. It's one of the few films to come out recently that has pretty much been sold on the promise of a high profiled director and cast, as well as a plot that for the most part was held pretty close to the chest. Now it has finally unleashed itself upon the world. Is it a completely flawless masterpiece? Not necessarily. Is it one of the best films of the year from one of the best filmmakers in the business? Absolutely.

I'll attempt to be as sketchy as I can on the details, just in case there's anyone else who, like me, has tried to avoid major plot points of the film. What I will say, as evident in most trailers, is that Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Cobb, the man with the ability to enter into people's dreams and extract information. One of the most difficult things to accomplish is "Inception", the planting of a foreign idea into the mind of another person. This requires layers of dreamworlds to accomplish, and his team has to battle many subconscious enemies in order to do so.

After witnessing what Christopher Nolan did to turn the comic book genre on its head with The Dark Knight, I became completely convinced that there was very little that Nolan could do wrong. Here, I'm continually impressed at how engrossing Nolan can create a dense universe as this. Still, there's only the illusion of complexity; if you pay attention to the film, you'll follow what happens. Still, that doesn't mean you aren't fascinated by what is taking place. He has had experience in working with layered storytelling in the past, and for the most part, Nolan has always been able to come out on top. While I think the last act of the film gets a little action-heavy for me, I'm still glued to the screen, excited with anticipation. Nolan's direction is controlled, calculated and the sign of a master at engaging with the audience on such a visceral level.

All around, the acting is well put together and nice to watch. It's a good cast that doesn't try to one-up each other, and instead work in synergy to help elevate the material. DiCaprio is great as the film's centerpiece, placing a perfectly placed, emotional footing for the audience to go along with, and I was certainly more impressed with him here than in Scorsese's film from earlier this year. That same emotional resonance is felt from Marion Cotillard as Cobb's lost love. Other players like Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Cillian Murphy add more layers of depth and intrigue to the film and they are great assets as well. If I were to pick one standout, it would by Tom Hardy, who plays the Inception expert invited to the team. Hardy has intellect, intelligence and a sly wit that deviously plays at the audience's expectations. Sounds like the perfect alter-ego for its director.

If I have one minor quibble with the film, it is an operational flaw within the screenplay. I certainly do admire Nolan's writing, and I think he manages to convey this dense story quite well. I would just say that sometimes, Nolan is so invested in keeping things moving forward that some pieces of information have to be filled in. When they are, it's generally in long splotches of expository dialogue. Whenever a conversation like this pops up, it grinds the film to a halt and feels like a screenplay that's not working on the intellectual level it was just at. I do enjoy the wonderful story that Nolan has created, but it gets bogged down enough times by bloated speeches to have a slight affect.

I wouldn't say I had absolutely zero problems with the film, and even though it might be incredibly fanboyish of me to say this, I think The Dark Knight is a better film and still stands as my favorite Nolan masterpiece, and I'll stand by that sentiment until the day I die. This film isn't flawless, but even a diamond with slight imperfections is still pretty to look at. I thoroughly enjoyed much of this film, from Nolan's directorial craft and stimulating storytelling, to an impressive cast, to the art direction elements, to Hans Zimmer's fantastic score, even if on the bombastic side that is checked when he works with James Newton Howard. All of that means it's still one of the best films of the year that in no way disappointed me. I've said it once, and I'll say it again, "In Nolan, I trust."

A-

Love Child

The marketplace for quality entertainment might be shallow in some places, but it is not a hollowed out, dry well that is totally vacant. There are plenty of well made, smaller films to balance out the avalanche of subpar studio pictures that generally fare mediocre results (Inception obviously excluded). Sometimes, though, even these smaller films have difficulty getting traction, and many films to have been bought at relatively high prices at Sundance have a habit of not reaching a huge audience in the general marketplace. Here's to that pattern breaking for an intelligent and emotionally genuine film.

Annette Bening and Julianne Moore are front and center as Nic and Jules, respectively, the loving lesbian couple living out their lives in sunny California. They have two children by the same sperm donor, Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson). As Joni starts to go off to college, curiosity grows in the children to seek out the man who gave the seeds to start the family. The donor is Paul (Mark Ruffalo), a kind of hipster doofus that invites himself into this unconventional family, causing turmoil and revelations to appear.

What I love so much about this film is that every character behaves and acts in a completely genuine way. This family is flawed, but it isn't because of its unconventional quirkiness. This family comes with the same baggage that every family comes with, and no matter what your background, you're going to see something to identify with. Nic and Jules are flawed people, but they aren't monsters either, and they deal with a middle-aged marital crisis in a way many would. Paul is a sweet guy, but he also isn't totally oblivious to the affect he's having on this family, both the positive and negative. The children, however, are unfortunately shortchanged as standard angst with little depth and its a bit of a cop out, but director and co-writer Lisa Cholodenko does an incredible job at presenting a fresh world that is filled with human emotion we can all relate to. It's a credible job executed to near perfection.

The entire ensemble does incredibly well to keep this film afloat. Bening and Moore give one of the best performances in their careers, and their pain and joy is felt throughout all of it. The chemistry between them is real, and their ability to strike such deep emotional chords on their own is astounding. Between them, Bening probably gets to showcase more in a role I have a sneaking suspicion will lead to an Oscar nomination, and it would be justly deserved. Ruffalo works in a similar key he played in his breakout role in You Can Count on Me, and considering that is one of his best performances, this one follows suit. He works on many levels that help to establish credibility with this character. Hutcherson and Wasikowska are working as best as they can in their limited roles, but I will say that Wasikowska has a much more commanding role than in Alice in Wonderland. Both of their character archs are little felt, but both are very endearing in their roles.

Few movies have the opportunity to fill you with a complete sense of satisfaction, but this one manages to do so. These endearing character, helped by the more than capable ensemble, exist in a real universe, making the connections formed with them feel deeply placed and genuine. A few shortchanged characters, and a camera operator who too often lets the boom mike in frame, aren't enough to pull down the film immensely. I loved spending time with these characters, and I almost wish I could spend even more time.

A-