Leonardo DiCaprio is a sly old dog. He wowed critics with his depictions of real-life writers, playing Tobias Wolff in This Boy’s Life (1993) (holding his own against a terrific Robert De Niro), and Jim Carroll in The Basketball Diaries (1995). He nabbed his first Oscar nod at the tender age of twenty, for his astonishing performance as Arnie in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993); he was the physical embodiment of the quintessential heartthrob in the late nineties after playing romantic leads in both Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Titanic (1997). Fearing for his credibility following the abundant hype which was born out of the latter, he endeavoured to showcase his artier side by choosing roles in films such as Woody Allen’s Celebrity (1998) and in Don’s Plum (2001). By this point, although well into his mid-twenties, DiCaprio had still not managed to shed his teenage-boy persona, and, as such, stirred laughter in the cinema isles every time he appeared on screen sporting facial hair. It seemed as though DiCaprio’s flame was burning out, and that he might have gone as far as he could go.
However, he has, seemingly under the audience’s radar, undergone an incredible transformation; a reinvention not unlike those pulled off in the past by the likes of Madonna or John Travolta. In making some very clever choices in the directors he works with and the parts he plays, cheeky-ol’ Leo has caused us all to blush with shame for ever having lost faith in his abilities. At the height of the teenage-girl-lust-fest that was the R+J/Titanic aftermath, male moviegoers were embarrassed to go and see a film which had DiCaprio on the cast list. He was very-much a female commodity, with his pretty face and his floppy blonde hair. But, DiCaprio has managed an almost silent coup and is now respected as a man amongst men, and as more than a slab of proverbial meat by the ladies.
It is fair to say that something magical occurred for DiCaprio the moment he formed an alliance with legendary director, Martin Scorsese. His turn as Amsterdam Vallon in Gang’s of New York (2002) showed us a new DiCaprio; no more were the blonde locks and the perfect tan – his hair was dark and so was his demeanour. Playing a young man consumed with hate and thirsty for revenge, it gave our perception of the actor a newly-sharpened edge. It certainly got Steven Spielberg’s attention, who signed him up to play real-life conman turned FBI consultant, Frank Abagnale Jr. in the acclaimed Catch Me If You Can (2002) (opposite a bang-on-form Tom Hanks); and DiCaprio, aware that he was clearly on to a good thing, went on to work with Scorsese three more times, with leading roles in The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006) and, most recently, Shutter Island (2010), in which his performance was nothing short of breathtaking.
Is it safe to assume then, that our man has shaken loose the shackles of his poster-boy past and hit his professional stride? The answer to that, my friends, is a resounding yes, as his latest performance pays the viewer dividends.
In Christopher Nolan’s first film since the now-cult classic, The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010) sees Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb, a man with the technology and the psychological knowhow to be able to share dreams with people and extract information. On his team he has Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt – 500 Days of Summer (2009)), Eames (Tom Hardy – Bronson (2008)), Yusuf (Dileep Rao – Avatar (2009)) and with the help of his father-in-law, Miles (Christopher Nolan regular, Michael Caine), Cobb recruits newbie, Ariadne (Ellen Page – Juno (2007)). The challenge set by influential businessman, Saito (Ken Watanabe – The Last Samurai (2003)) is not to extract information as seems to be Cobb’s usual agenda, but to plant an idea into the head of business rival, Robert Fischer Jr. (Cillian Murphy – Sunshine (2007)); the idea to break apart the corporation left to him by Fischer Sr. (DiCaprio’s former R+J co-star, Pete Postlethwaite). Cobb, having been deported from the US following claims that he may have killed his late wife, Mol (played here in dream sequences by Marion Cotillard – Public Enemies (2009)), is offered immunity from the authorities and a ticket back to the States and his estranged children by Saito, in return for his mind-altering services. What Cobb’s team don’t know (with the exception of an inquisitive Ariadne) is that Cobb’s harboured guilt for how his life has gone effects his performance in the dream state, inducing a projected version of Mol who can pose a very-real threat to all involved in the proceedings. It is up to Cobb to keep these feelings at bay in order to get the job done and keep his team alive in the process…
The concept of this film is similar in its nature to that of The Matrix (1998), in that our protagonists are hooked up to a machine and unconscious in reality, whilst their minds enter a fantasy world and do all the work. And, like The Matrix, there are rules in place which tell us that what happens in the mind can seriously affect the body. However, as Christopher Nolan brought plausibility to a comic book superhero, so too has he kept this story rooted to a spot from which the audience can buy into the plot, and accept that these things are possible. This is not some sci-fi yarn set in the distant future – these are people who feel real to us, set in a time recognised as near-present, using modest-looking metal boxes and wires to perform a scientific endeavour.
There are some nice touches here – the concept of the Totem (a personal item which each person on the team must have on their person at all times; their anchor to reality) is especially poignant, and plays an integral part in the movie’s conclusion. Also, the apparent hostility between Eames and Arthur, suggestive of their having worked together in the past, stirs a laugh or two in places. At one point, in the dream state, the team are armed with machine guns and are defending themselves against attackers. Arthur stands and shoots his gun, then Eames approaches him from behind, his weapon notably bigger than Arthur’s, and says (in my favourite line from the script): “Don’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, Darling…” – his bazooka-like gun spouting a single explosion which takes care of the enemy, and leaves Arthur rolling his eyes.
The performances from all the actors involved are of the highest class. This is British actor, Tom Hardy’s most high-profile film to date, having performed attention-grabbing turns in both Bronson (2008) and television drama, The Take (2009), and it is my belief that here we have an extremely viable contender for the next 007 – you heard it here first. He commands the screen when he is up there, and his devastating good-looks almost leave the handsome DiCaprio in the dust at times.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt also shines here, in particular during a sequence in which he is weightless, attempting to fight bad guys and get his people to safety simultaneously. It is rumoured that Gordon-Levitt might play The Riddler in Nolan’s next instalment of the Batman franchise, though, at present, this is mere press speculation.
It is DiCaprio, however, whose star shines the brightest. In his more-than-capable hands, the audience are guided through an extremely complex and potentially problematic plot, and come through on the other side relatively unscathed and possibly even a little enlightened. The intensity and yet subtlety of his performance is a true testament to his being a weathered veteran of Tinsel Town, and a true heavyweight amongst the leading men in film today. He makes Cobb easy to relate to in an environment which is not, and that takes skill.
Christopher Nolan’s genius as a director lays in his ability to take the utterly fantastic, and reiterate it from a very human, very real place. This is a think-piece for the blockbuster crowd – that very rare creature which does not patronise its audience, but invites them merely to adjust all that they know of movies for a couple of hours and have a slightly different experience than they would usually have. The audience are treated to a slice of intelligence, and still come away feeling like they’ve been on a rollercoaster ride. It’s an incredible achievement.
Inception is charismatic and cool, enlightening and inspiring. Its message about the depth of the human mind and all its potential is one which was much-needed in light of developments in modern technology. It reminds us that no matter how amazing modern gadgetry is, it only came into fruition because somebody somewhere thought of it; that the mind is capable of so much more than we use it for; and that our relationships with others can move the paths of our lives. In addition to this, the film’s ending will be a discussion topic amongst cinephiles the world over for years to come.
Star Rating: *****
Image sourced at:
http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.135043!/img/httpImage/image.jpg
102 thoughts on “Film Review by Emma Champion: Inception (2010) – starring Leonardo DiCaprio”
Comments are closed.