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'Inception' ending has audiences wondering
"Inception" messes with your mind, but in a good way.The latest cinematic conundrum from director Christopher Nolan, who gave us "The Dark Knight," "The Prestige" and "Memento," "Inception" studies what it means to dream and the power of one's mind to manipulate and accept that reality.
It's not a simple concept to sum up (you can try reading the review), but the science fiction elements rely on your believing that one person can extract information from another person's subconscious. This is done by invading the target's dreams and being able to "read" what that person knows in their dream landscape. Thus, a secret could be hidden in something that appears to be a combination safe or a bank vault in the other person's mind.
The danger, of course, comes in the idea that these dreams seem real, and our hero Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) has far too much experience with walking that fine line and getting trapped there. "Life is just a dream" isn't just a line from a children's song, but a concept that philosophers and scientists have been playing with throughout time.
Is the way we perceive the world actually "true" if it's filtered through our sometimes faulty perceptions? Could there be an argument that what we experience in reality is not in fact reality?
We won't spoil the ending of "Inception," for those who haven't seen the film, but suffice to say that Cobb is involved. The film will no doubt spark a debate about the ending, and which side one stands on could be telling about one's personality.
We'd like to open the floor to debate here -- with the caveat to readers that any discussion in the comments will likely be SPOILERY. You've been warned.
"Inception" is currently in theaters nationwide.
What did you think about the ending of "Inception" -- besides that it was brilliant?
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Photo credit: Warner Bros.
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Loved the ending, to the point that finishing the film any other way would have had a lesser impact. The entire Dallas preview audience screamed - like everything else in the movie, note-perfect.
I really liked the ending. Could you really tell if the whole movie was a dream or not? I guess that decision is left for the audience... Or do I see a sequel in the future? Haha
I perfectly agree with Devin.
There were other parts in the movie where the top toppled over, (I think in the bathroom) so we can hope those parts of the movie were real. But, if you're the only person who knows how your totem works, will it still work if your in your own dream?
The last time he woke up Dom and Saito were not connected to the device. The device is necassary to connect people's dreams together. Since they are both trapped and Dom's last mission was to wake up Saito,it makes no sense that the dream connecting device would be not attached to both of them when they woke up. Thus, hinting he is still dreaming.
I agree with the posts. I was left wondering how much was a dream. Was the part when he wakes up on the plane or the entire movie. How can we trust the totem if the entire movie might be a dream? Brilliant.
What if the ending suggests that he was stuck in Limbo again after going there the second time? Maybe his wife got him stuck in there so he just has yet to wake up, but he dreams that he completed the mission and got out of the other dreams and Limbo, but really, he's just stuck. Is it weird that he didn't talk to anyone after they "woke up" in the plane?
The ending could not have been better in my opinion. In Leo's mind it was a win/win either way, unless he latter discovered that the totem was still spinning. I think he was back to "reality" as it seems like that was what the last 10 min was leading up to and totem was in a falling spin in the last frame, while in other dreams the totem spins perfectly the whole time. I would like to know how Cobb and Saito get back to reality without a "jolt"?
For a 2.5 hour movie, it was dense, and think Nolan should be applauded for not trying to give ALL the answers.
Of course, there's also the theory that Dom didn't actually wake up in the sleeping den about midway through the film and that he's still sleeping there and the whole mission was part of the dream... which opens up a whole different debate.
One of my coworkers complained that they thought the movie was left open for a sequel... But I just think the ending was left open, a la Blade Runner or Nolan's The Prestige. There's a central question that calls for consideration or debate, but the narrative isn't really open enough to call for another film. I'm fairly certain that will Nolan may return to the themes of Inception at some point (identity, perception of reality, grief) but that there won't be an Inception 2.
And of course, I thought the film was fantastic.
I loved the ending because there was evidence to support both options of whether he was dreaming or not. We never saw the gun go off, so he could be dreaming. On the other hand, he finally saw his kids faces, which implies reality.
Personally, I believe a sequel will ruin the magnitude of this film. After all, on it's own, this film is already a modern masterpiece
As i read someone mention it in the imdb post, a clue to whether Cobb is dreaming or not, is in the clothes that his children are wearing at the end. If you notice, they are wearing the same clothes that he always visualizes them in.
But I must admit there couldn't have been a better ending to this movie. I was happy with all the build up till the end, but the last shot of the spinning totem nailed it !!!
Me and all of friends we like... OOHHHH !!!