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DILLON ON FILM
Inception: 15 Years On
Christopher Nolan’s exceptional metaphysical heist thriller continues to enthral
Warning: Contains spoilers
There’s a lovely moment in the middle of Christopher Nolan’s metaphysical heist thriller Inception (2010) when Ariadne (Elliot Page — credited as Ellen Page) says: “Wait a minute. Whose subconscious are we going into, exactly?” Ariadne is there to ask questions on behalf of the audience, a bit like the Doctor’s companion in Doctor Who, but this scene provides a well-judged, self-aware laugh at the complexity of Nolan’s remarkable screenplay. He’s not above poking fun at himself, and that understated sense of humour is present throughout this film, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this month.
Despite such well-deployed winks at the audience, Nolan expects us to keep up with time passing at different rates amid the dreams within dreams. In addition to his usual non-linear narratives, he now introduces non-linear realities. I’ve often said Nolan should have won an Oscar for this outstanding film, but, in truth, the most egregious Academy oversight that year was Lee Smith failing to win Best Editing. Without Smith’s highly skilled editorial juggling act, Inception would have collapsed like a house of cards.
