Was he a dream at the end?! INTERSTELLAR: th-cam.com/video/nKiIOkDG0bQ/w-d-xo.html THE PRESTIGE: th-cam.com/video/3j7BgDIARoI/w-d-xo.html DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY: th-cam.com/play/PLQHhQlj8i5drBSzNvmBZkvf87VhW3a1nV.html
It wasn't. The kids had different clothes and in the credits they were 4 kids credited for that role, the spinning top was never his totem, it was his ring, whenever he was in a dream he always wore it but not in the real world. Everytime Michael Cane is in a scene is the real world.
Inception star Michael Caine revealed something of a behind-the-scenes trick to interpreting Inception's ending. In an old interview with Esquire, Caine, who plays Cobb’s mentor and father-in-law, revealed what Nolan told him when he struggled to understand Inception's script: “When I got the script of Inception, I was a bit puzzled by it, and I said to (Chris), ‘I don’t understand where the dream is’. I said, ‘When is it the dream and when is it reality?’ He said, ‘Well, when you’re in the scene it’s reality.’ So, get that - if I’m in it, it’s reality. If I’m not in it, it’s a dream.” Crucially, Caine's Professor Stephen Miles is in Inception's final scene. That would suggest, at least by the rules Nolan established with Caine, that Inception's ending is set in reality and Cobb is not dreaming. BTW Jen please react to "Tenet" is another Nolan masterpiece a mindblowing movie like this one.
Christopher Nolan with another masterpiece. This was mind blowing: the cast, the camera shots, the story, the score everything about this movie was amazing. The hallway scene is incredible and it was done with no CGI which makes it even better.
This is my favorite movie of all time so I really enjoyed your reaction! I actually did a persuasive essay on whether the ending was real or not for an English class in college and there’s a lot of evidence that it’s indeed reality. 1. The biggest reason I see for this is that Cobb was always aware of his reality, even in limbo the first time. He admits to that when Mal says “you don’t believe in one reality anymore, so choose here, choose me.” He argues, “no I know what’s real because no matter how confused I get, the guilt is always there reminding me of the truth.” As much as he wants it to be true and submit to delusion, anywhere Mal can show up, cannot be reality. She is gone and it was his fault and there’s no forgetting that. I think that’s truly why he uses her totem. It’s more symbolic…when he has a moment of doubt, he spins her totem (like he did in limbo when he planted her idea) and it’s a reminder of the guilt and it grounds him. Aside from that, as many have stated, his wedding ring is always present in the dream and not in reality. Ariadne asks him “why is it so important to dream?” And he replies “in my dreams, we’re still together.” 2. The kids. Despite the real-world fact that there are two sets of kids (and one set is credited as “older James” and “older Philippa” ) and the differences in clothing, (they are very similar in color and shape but look at screenshots, it’s different clothes), there’s the point about never seeing their faces. I liken that to dreams where, say, you’re trying to fix your hair or makeup but no matter how hard you try you can’t seem to get a good look in the mirror, or your driving and can’t for some reason look up out of the windshield. His children’s faces evade him like that in the dreams, I think. His subconscious feels guilt over leaving without saying goodbye and punishes him with that barrier. So being able to see their faces at the end is more than just oh he chose to wait and look at their faces. He could literally never get a glimpse in the dreams, even if he’d wanted to. 3. Michael Caine states that Nolan told him any scene he’s in is reality. So, boom, that’s easy. 4. Cobb says “you never really know how a dream starts, do you? You just end up in the middle of it. Think about it, Ariadne, how did you get here?” But once Cobb wakes up on the plane, we see his entire journey through the airport, through customs, and then home. I think that was all done intentionally. Cobb knows how he got there to his kids and so do we. 4. Finally, we get a good clip of how the spinning totem responds in the dream. The only instance we see of its function in a dream, is when Cobb plants the idea in Mal’s safe in limbo. In a dream, the top spins straight up as if it’s standing still, on and on. It never wobbles or wavers or moves in circles. At the end when he spins it, before the cut to black, it in fact wobbles. I know people say the point is that he doesn’t care and I think that’s valid and I agree. (But I care! Lol) But I also think that’s the biggest clue that it’s reality. If that totem really was just a reminder of the guilt of what he did to Mal, he’s made his peace with it. All of that is finally in the past. He’s forgiven himself and atoned and made it home, so he has no need to look back for the reminder. He’s not suppressing the truth. He’s moving forward and letting go-not of the concept or belief in reality (because he’s sure of that now) but of Mal. Dreams and Mal are the past, reality and his children are the future.
I've heard that whether or not it's real doesn't actually matter as much as the fact that he no longer cares if it's real. EDIT: Also, his totem is not the top. His totem, from what people have said, is probably his wedding ring. EDIT 2: One problem I see is that you mention his guilt is what kept him grounded in the real world. But if he's letting go of his guilt, how can he truly know it's the real world? I'm not saying he's still in limbo, I'm just thinking and questioning.
@@Soulsphere001that's correct that totem is his wife's. Rewatch the movie and you'll see his is in fact his wedding ring. When he had it on, he is dreaming. When he doesn't, he is not. At the end he does not.
@@Soulsphere001 I think we’re agreeing on the same things here. Idk if you read my whole comment, but I love having discussions about this movie and its themes and theories, so I’m gonna reply and clarify lol. 1. I acknowledge that the common opinion is “the reality doesn’t matter, only that he chooses to believe it’s reality.” However for a lot of viewers, that’s subjective, because many of us do care. And I think both things can be true. It can be reality and he also can be free of the need to determine whether it is or not. 2. I speak on the fact that the top isn’t his totem. It’s Mal’s. Therefore it doesn’t work for him anyway. And near the end of that paragraph I mention his true totem is his ring, backed up with a quote. What I was getting at with the top was, if WE know it’s not his totem and if HE knows it’s not his totem, WHY does he still spin it? There must be a purpose, so what is it? It’s not to check reality, so I believe it’s to remind him of the guilt when he’s especially confused (which is always when Mal is present). He literally says in the movie “I know what’s real because no matter what I do, the guilt is always there reminding me of the truth.” Even when he can’t fully believe or trust his totem(s), the guilt tells the truth. Shes dead and it’s his fault. So if she’s there, it can’t be reality, no matter how confused he is. And honestly, as a secondary point, I think Cobb is just so self-loathing that spinning the top and remembering the tragedy all over again every time is like him punishing himself too. 3. Like in the last point, the guilt grounds him when he’s especially confused. He could, in theory, make the totems behave how he wants them to, to believe what he wants to, when he’s in control of his dream (i.e limbo). But even if he wants to believe differently or eradicate the guilt, he can’t, even on a subconscious level. ESPECIALLY at a subconscious level. At the end of the movie, he’s no longer confused, because he’s no longer caught between dream and reality. He’s left dreams (and Mal) behind. There’s no more need to “check” if he’s grounded. By virtue of coming to terms with the past, forgiving himself, and moving on with his kids, he simply is. Or put another way, the guilt no longer grounds him, because the peace does. I hope my thoughts make a little more sense now. I tend to ramble. Thanks for opening up the line of questioning and further reasoning, cause this movie is ripe for that!
@@stardust-scavenger1748 1. The reason I mention that reality doesn't matter is because one of the creators of the movie, I don't recall who it was though, mentions that the important thing isn't whether or not it's real but that Cobb no longer cares. That's the only reason I brought it up. But, you're right, people will naturally want to know if it's the real world or if he's still in limbo. 2. I recall now that I skimmed through your original comment. Sorry about that. "I believe it’s to remind him of the guilt when he’s especially confused". That makes a huge amount of sense, which seems to suggest that it's not exactly his ring that is his totem but his guilt is actually his totem but the top and the ring are the physical reminders of his guilt. That really is an interesting insight. 3. That makes a lot of sense, too. It's a more subtle way of giving a character in a story some character development. His experiences changed his outlook on life and he's no longer the same person he was. Yeah, there's definitely a lot one can learn about the movie, Inception, through studying it. Is your essay online anywhere? I wouldn't mind reading it.
I've always thought Nolan-Hardy-DiCaprio would make a great Bond film together Sort of like a modern twist on *_"A View To A Kill"_* with DiCaprio in the Christopher Walken American Tycoon role
It is absolutely amazing how well Nolan communicates the rules of this world to us; this could very easily have been a movie that a person needs to watch three times before they have any clue what just happened, but instead it is completely comprehensible on first viewing.
Hey Jen, I know you mentioned lucid dreaming to the max. ------ The entire concept for this movie came to Chris Nolan during his college years being sleep-deprived and going to classes not knowing if he was asleep or awake. ----- He eventually developed the script idea over time and got the chance to make the movie as he became more established in the industry. ----- What an amazing journey.
Hey Jen, The end of "Inception" leaves it a mystery. Was Cobb in a dream or not. ------ Many people are not sure, but in an interview with (Michael Caine) aka Miles he says '' I asked Cristopher Nolan was that real at the end, and he said every scene you are in is real'.------- In other words, Michael Caine is with Dom at the end when he reunites with his children, and so we are back to reality. ------ It makes for a fun debate for sure.
The ending is ambiguous for a reason: Cobb no longer cares if he's in the real world or not as long as he's finally back with his children, so he walks away before seeing if the top falls
@@vincelang3779 True, true. that is a strong point to be considered. ------ I think Nolan in his filming made them be the same age so the emotional hit at the end would be stronger when we see them reunite. ------- Plus it's the first time we see their faces and when he talked with them earlier in the movie they sounded like small children.
This movie has one of my favorite soundtracks. I appreciate that Jen appreciates soundtracks as much as I do. It's surprising to me how many don't even notice soundtracks.
Hans Zimmer built the entire soundtrack off of the Edith Piaf song 'Non, Je ne regrette rien' that they use as the kick. The film is also the exact length in hours and minutes to minutes and seconds as the running time of the song. When the song is over the dream is over.
This is a great movie that you should definitely watch again, Jen!!! And honestly the plot seems fairly easy to follow compared to Nolan's 2020 film Tenet... Which I highly recommend that you watch at some point, as well!
The real kicker, Jen, is that the spin top isn't actually Cobb's totem, it's Mal's. Cobb's totem is his wedding ring. You only see him wearing it in the dream world and in the last scene of the movie he wasn't wearing it, letting us know he was in fact in the real world.
That is a common theory however there is both a supporting scene and a hole in that theory during the ending. They dont show hes ring finger in the last scene so we dont know if hes wearing the ring or not. They do show hes left hand but the way hes holding it its impossable to se if hes got a ring on it or not. What supports this theory is that we do se hes left hand when he hands over hes passport at the airport and there he isent wearing a ring.
I like the way Nolan does sci-fi: one hypothetical idea and build the rest of the world logically from that, rather than making every single thing fantastical.
0:17: my favorite composers of all time(so far): 1- Hans Zimmer (Inception/Dune) 2- Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galatica/ Outlander) 3- James Horner (Aliens/Titanic) 4- John Williams (Star Wars Franchise/Indian Jones Franchise) 5- Yoko Kanno(Cowboy Bebop/Ghost In the Shell TV series) 6- Ennio Morricone(The Good, the Bad and the Ugly/ The Hateful Eight) 7- Hiroyuki Sawano (“Shingeki no Kyojin”Attack on Titan/ The Seven Deadly Sins) 8- Vangelis (Chariots of Fire/Blade Runner) 9- Thomas Newman (WALL-E/ 1917)
Here's a neat theory to reconceptualize the movie in a new light: the real target of inception was not Fischer but Dominic Cobb himself, and it was Ariadne, hired by his father-in-law, who rigorously implanted the idea that he must forgive himself and let go of Mal.
I think that works as well. It would mean the entirety of the film was a dream(in layers) and he was never accused of murdering his wife and barred from returning to the US. It was all just him letting go and getting rid of a guilty conscious.
It is a known fact and confirmed by Nolan and Caine that anytime Michael Caine is a part of a scene then it is 100% the real world. So he does in fact go home and reunite with his kids in the real world.
Wow & Michael's line "get to the reality Cobb" gives this theory a huge support wtf I never saw this coming. This is like the story of the game called inside.
@aidarosullivan That is pretty much what I have posted on all the reactions to this film😊 always wondered why nobody else saw it(it is just a theory) but now I feel vindicated about all those posts 🎉🕺
The idea that Mal didn't want to leave the dream world reflects reality - I've had plenty of dreams that were so much fun that when I woke up, I just wanted to go back into the dream again
@charlize1253 you should practice lucid dreaming. It lets you shape the dream and be ever aware as you are experiencing the dream. Pretty intense stuff.
When this movie came out I was spellbound watching for the first time. So I can imagine how you felt. ----------- I watched it three times in a row at the movie theater. -------- See I of had this concept of being half asleep quite often. -------- I of course was nowhere near to the concept execution and world-building of Christopher Nolan. ------- The man is a mad genius.
One of the most innovative and engaging movies that I have ever seen. It has so many layers that each time you view it you get something new. Excellent!
Fun fact that started as a fan theory but was eventually confirmed by Nolan himself. The whole setup of this movie is an allegory for the process of making a film. Each main character represents one of the key roles in the process: Cobb - Director Eames - Actor Arthur - Producer Ariadne - Set Designer Saito - Studio Fisher - Audience Another fan theory that hasn't been confirmed is that Cobb's totem is actually his wedding ring. He is wearing it in all of the dream sequences but never wearing it in reality. It's fairly plausible because the spinning top was originally Mal's totem, meaning Cobb must have used something else before her death. It's possible that the zoom in to the top at the end is meant to be a red herring. Another factor is that we never see his children's faces in any of the dreams, and it's specifically referenced a couple times that he wanted to see their faces one more time. At the end we do finally see their faces, which to me suggests that the scene is reality. Can you tell that I really like this movie? I must have seen it at least 6 or 7 times.
Hey Jen, Christopher Nolan movies are second to none and he has become one of the best film auteur of our generation. ------- He's surpassed James Cameron, and Frances Ford Coppola. His genius is simply on a next level. --------- The deep scientific concepts and details he is not only able to deliver but also convey to us in a language that we can understand is truly unprecedented. -------- Just like you said with adding the emotional weight, psychological distress that he places our protagonist under makes us also feel their pain at the deepest level. --------- I can't say enough about the Genius of Christopher Nolan. You must watch his entire catalogue.
Loved your reaction. Hans Zimmer is incredible. I've seen him twice and his music and live performance should be on everyone's bucket list. Inception. Interstellar. Gladiator. Pirates of the Caribbean. Rain Man. Dune. The Dark Knight. The Da Vinci Code. Pearl Harbor. Too many to list. If you can, see him in person. Music makes movies.
My favourite score by Hans Zimmer would be The DaVinci Code. With the piece "Chevalier De Sangreal" as my number one. It literally moves me to tears just listening to it. The movie is also awesome. :)
It was a happy ending, Michael Caine leaked years ago that any scene that he was involved in was the real world and Christopher Nolan confirmed what Caine said so it was definitely the real world and a happy ending. Great movie and score for sure! One of the best soundtracks of any movie.
I don't disagree with seeing it that way, but it's a somewhat ambiguous ending so 'death of the author' applies. The viewer is free to interpret it how how they feel and aren't bound by statements from the director, writer or actors. For a similar case, I've always chosen to interpret Pan's Labyrinth differently to statements made by Guillermo Del Toro about the extent to which the fantastical elements of the film are real vs the imagination of the protagonist.
I think all of Nolan's films have a cautionary note to them - Memento, The Prestige, even his Dark Knight trilogy is tinged with regret. The thing that gets me in this is the people in the Chemist's basement that go there EVERY DAY to go back into their 40 hr dream. It is like a drug. These people, like Cobb are not just burning the candle at both ends... the candle is in the fire. And that is why I believe that the entire movie is in Cobb's mind.
And if you watch the end credits all the way through, the music changes into the Edith Piaf song. Telling the audience they are about to wake up from the movie.
I saw the Hans Zimmer live performance as well and the piece he played from this film gave me goose bumps :) He also played a suite from Rain Man, which is one of my absolute favorite scores.
The little pinwheel toy in the safe always sends me in teary-eyes mode. :P I'm simple like that. 😥 Because it symbolizes fatherly love. It is the ultimate proof that the inception worked, in my opinion.
When I watched it, I thought that his kids' faces had somehow became his totem. So when the kids turned around in the end, it meant it was real. If you like Zimmer, look up Hanz Zimmer and Scott Hoying (with Mario Jose). They combine one of his pieces here (Time) with beautiful lyrics from... Is it L.P.? It's gorgeous.
This for me is Nolans true magnum opus. Its a scifi MASTERPIECE. Everything from the writing, dialogue, acting, cinematography and my god the score!! Nolan loves an ambiguous ending and it raised questions for Michael Caine. So in an interview Michael was asked his thoughts on the ending. Michael said he asked Nolan if it was a dream at the end and Nolan said every scene Michael was in was reality. The spinning top wobbling then the cut was just to make the audience question it. A very simple but deceiving ploy. But no matter how you cut it, this film is absolute 😙👌🏼 Glad you enjoyed it Jen Best from 🏴 P.s When you watch this you see so many actors Nolan cast in his Dark Knight trilogy.
One of the big reasons so many people in this movie are from The Dark Knight is partially as this was the idea he had before he even started TDK Trilogy. He wanted to do the Batman Trilogy to prepapre him for a movie on this scale and, shockingly, the studio weren't confident in him pulling this off. Seems like a wild concept these days considering how Nolan might be the biggest direcftor in the world today. It also factored into why Zimmer did TDK soundtrack too. Between Inception, The Dark Knight and Interstellar, Nolan put together three of the most stunning movies of all time in just 6 years. Three of my all-time favourites too.
Joseph Gordon Leavitt (Arthur) started out on a hilarious 90s sitcom called Third Rock from the Sun, the guy they are trying to convince of his father's love is Cillian Murphy. He was in Batman Begins, Dunkirk, and he also played Oppenheimer in the new film. He is a brilliantly gifted actor and is fantastic in the new film.
Yes. Definitely rewatch. Inception is one of those movies, that the more you rewatch it, the more you'll get out of it. i've seen it about 10 times so far and each time i notice something new that makes it that much better.
Tenet is Inception on steroids. Inception does warrant re-watches, at least one or two. Tenet is a film you have to watch half a dozen times to fully wrap your head around it, if you're lucky enough to ever fully wrap your head around it.
The ending with the wobble is Nolan's way of showing you that Cobb does not care what world this is anymore and after seeing the kids faces, he wants to stay there. That is why he never wanted to see their faces in the other levels.
Hi Jen for you recognizing so many actors, Nolan is emulating John Ford in assembling his acting troupe. It’s why you keep seeing the same actors showing up in so many of Nolan’s movies. Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine, Joseph gordon lewit. Once he got a good feeling for an actor, he loves to continue working with them.
Great reaction like always, There are thrillers, and then there are thrillers. Gripping every second and couching its pages of exposition in the smartest way possible, this movie is original filmmaking at its finest i love Nolan movie. There are some fun-facts about it Christopher Nolan thought of the idea behind this movie when he was 16, and the script took him 10 years to write, Cobb's team used the French song "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien," which translates to "No, I Don't Regret Anything" in English, as a "kick" to signal that it's time to leave a dream. Translated in English, "No, absolutely nothing / No, I regret nothing / It is paid, done, forgotten / I don't care about the past," may allude to Cobb and Saito's recurring line: "Do you want to become an old man, filled with regret, waiting to die alone?" The song is also a direct contrast to Cobb's inability to let go of his late wife, Mal. The cast and crew traveled to a total of six countries while filming this film the locations included the U.S., Morocco, Canada, France, the U.K., and Japan. Nolan's son Magnus played James, Cobb's son. Nolan also cast his cousin, Miranda, as a flight attendant. Joseph Gordon-Levitt said the scene in the hallway was both the most fun and the most painful experience he's ever had on a set. Arthur's totem, an object that signifies whether or not he's in a dream or reality, is a red pair of dice. When he shows it to Ariadne, the side with five dots faces the camera. In his dream at the hotel, the number appears several times. The hotel has at least five floors, and two "5" signs frame Gordon-Levitt several times during the zero-gravity fight scene. The license plates in Yusuf's dream were marked as "The Alternate State." The characters' dreams are filled with subtle hints that separate the subconscious from the real world. Though a minor detail, Nolan changed the cars' license plates to read "The Alternate State," dropping a hint that the action scene was happening in a dream. The scene between Cobb and Miles was shot at the architecture school at University College London, the university where Nolan studied English and met his wife Emma Thomas. Miles makes a reference to DiCaprio's role in "Catch Me If You Can." "Extradition between France and the United States is a bureaucratic nightmare," Cobb told Miles as he discusses his plan to return home to his children in the U.S. That line is a reference to his role as Frank Abagnale Jr., who gets arrested in France and sent back to the U.S. in the film "Catch Me If You Can." Keep up the good work.
1. The film's title would be slightly more accurate if it were "Instigation". 2. "Robert Fischer" is the name of one of the world's greatest chess players. He was the World Champion in 1972, but afterward went into semi-seclusion and became very unstable, declaring himself "still" the champion even after he didn't defend his title in a timely manner. Eventually a movie was made titled "Searching For Bobby Fischer", but it was actually about finding the next child chess prodigy instead of him. 3. This film makes a good companion piece to "Tenet", or maybe the other way around, which is very apt. 4. Over a year before the film was released, there was a Scrooge McDuck comic book which told a similar story, where the Beagle Boys entered Scrooge's subconscious to get the password (or whatever) to his money vault. Donald Duck found out about it and had to enter the dream to stop them. One of their best stories ever made, and it made lots of references to Scrooge's past that, if you know the history, was very rewarding.
He definitely wasn't dreaming at the end, because earlier when he is visiting his memories he said he could never see his kids faces unless he went back in person. So he didn't bother waiting for his totem to stop spinning because his kids faces were a totem.
I never thought of this until Jen said "the star of this movie was the story." With how good this movie and story are, would it have been delivered as well without this absolute all star cast they assembled. Seems like in the theme of the movie she created this thought within my head.
There is an argument that says the whole movie is Cobb's dream. He's just subconsciously creating a maze and then battling his own aggressive projections to complete it.
The hallway fight scene is my favorite action scene of all time. Mind-bending and mind-blowing. Such a cool idea and it is even more amazing because it is real and shot in camera.
A true piece of cinematic masterwork, it’s also a movie with an ending truly left open to interpretation. I think the discussion that was had about whether Cobb is in reality or not at the end is clearly by design, but also missing the point a bit. In the end, Cobb is either in a dream where he can be happy, or he’s in reality and can be happy. Either way, his obsessive checking of the totem has stopped, which means he no longer cares. Thus, we the audience don’t get to definitively know and we never will. Where he ends up is really up to you and what you need the story to be. Is he still dreaming, trapped in a limbo state where he can imagine a happy ending, or has he escaped with his team and returned to his children? …yes… Also, my absolute favorite interpretation of the entire movie is that it’s a movie about how creative people make movies. A team assembles, sketches out ideas and concepts, they builds the sets, guide the audience through an emotional journey they’ve scripted (be it a theater of people or an audience of one, ie, Fischer), a catharsis is reached, and we leave to contemplate or discuss the implications. Levels within levels throughout. Such good stuff.
My favorite movie of all-time!! The concept is so REALISTIC and has so many things that make you remember how dreams appear and how we experience dreaming vs reality. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE everything about this film every time that I watch it!! Your reactions are so great to it also! So many unanswered and unopenend concepts and questions. We never really remember when and where a dream starts, just how they end or the unknown of how it was going to end before we abruptly wake up. Remembering a dream can be super difficult for some but easy for others. It is all in our mind and scientists can't even understand exactly how the brain works still, so why wouldn't companies be working to understand and hack into people's brains to influence them to buy certain products or believe certain things? It is ALL so real and possible.
Also that top has been handled by 3 people, 2 of them living. It's almost as if at the table, Cobb traded his only way of knowing he's dreaming to Saito for his freedom.
Sweet reaction, Jen! I wondered how long it would take for you to see this. A rewatch is a must. When I saw this movie the first time, it seemed so familiar, because I always had vivid dreams as a child. Later, as my control increased, these became less frightening, and vivid dreams became beneficial experiences. For those familiar with lucid dreams, this movie really hits all the right notes! A fun concept film that might even provide some guidance for lucid dreamers. I got red pilled on this one. 😂
I read somewhere that the top is not Cobbs' totem it is Mal's, so it doesn't work properly for him. Cobbs' totem is his wedding ring. In reality, he does not have that ring on his finger.
Part way through the movie, Leo's character gets put to sleep by the chemist. Shortly after that there's a scene where he goes to spend the top and it falls on the floor, that's the last time we see him even think about that thing. It's entirely possible that from the moment that he gets put to sleep by the chemist, the entire rest of the movie is his dream
There's been so many arguements when this first came out about whether he finally woke up. A throw-away comment earlier in the movie that really muddies the water is the one about never touching someone else's totem....the spinning top was Mal's totem, not Cobb's. There is a further theory that Cobb's actual totem is his wedding ring...
The ending is ambiguous for a reason: Cobb no longer cares if he's in the real world or not as long as he's finally back with his children, so he walks away before seeing if the top falls
I'm not all to familiar with Nolan's work, as I've seen a few films of his, but no super fan by any stretch, but this movie is a masterpiece in film making. The story, the characters, the special effects, all of it comes together for one of the greatest movies I've ever seen. I'm normally not a big fan of cinema in general, as most movies rate at "C-" to "D+" in my book, so when an "A+" movie comes along, it's all the more special. I could see how this movie isn't for everyone, but for those who "get it", it really is a special film, and I hope you enjoy it.
Glad you picked this one. This is so well constructed movie, the scenes are somehow all connected if you look really into it (couple of watches needed). And the score, its phenomenal. And you got most of my favorite actors in one movie. 10/10
I have a deep love for film scores too and this one is near the top. The one sci-fi score that I think tops it is Clint Mansell’s score for “The Fountain”. It’s a polarizing film but I think you’d appreciate it.
She should definitely watch "Memento," it's the movie that put Christopher Nolan on the map and where he first started playing with timelines and memory
Friend took me to see this and I knew nothing about it. Saw it, loved it and went back the very next day to see it again with my gf. Edit: that little sound after it cuts to black at the end 😂
The discussions and theories out of the theater were insane. Facebook and Twitter were also newish at the time and there were so many pictures and inforgraphics explaining things😂 I think Cobb’s real totem is his wedding ring. He wears his wedding ring when he's in a dream, but not when he's in the real world. However, the final scene deliberately doesn’t show the left hand or finger
You noticed that the wakeup theme was Edith Piaf. It's interesting that the Marion Cotillard (the actress who played "Mal") won her Best Actress Oscar playing Edith Piaf in the 2007 film _La_ _Vie_ _En_ _Rose_ (aka, _La_ _Môme_ in many countries). That movie is also definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it.
The spinning top wasn't Cobb's totem, it was Mol's. Cobb's totem is his wedding ring. He's wearing it when he's dreaming and it's absent in the real world.
Hello Jen. Are you aware that the snow scene with the fortress on the mountain is directly inspired by James Bond’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It is Christopher Nolan’s favourite Bond film.
This movie hurts my brain. Its defiantly one of those you have to watch 2 or 3 times to really get. I'm proud of you for getting as much as you did on your first run through. lol It was absolutely spectacular on the big IMAX screen back when it was released.
Watch every Nolan, they're all interesting, and have great score, whether it's Zimmer or Goransson. And it's a great feeling to have seen all the work of an artist and have all the cards to try to interpret it.
This is one of the film Christopher Nolan made between the Batman films (I think the other one was the Prestige, I could be wrong, it may have been Interstellar). And yes the top still spinning with a slight wobble is ambiguous on purpose.
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Was he a dream at the end?!
INTERSTELLAR: th-cam.com/video/nKiIOkDG0bQ/w-d-xo.html
THE PRESTIGE: th-cam.com/video/3j7BgDIARoI/w-d-xo.html
DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY: th-cam.com/play/PLQHhQlj8i5drBSzNvmBZkvf87VhW3a1nV.html
It wasn't. The kids had different clothes and in the credits they were 4 kids credited for that role, the spinning top was never his totem, it was his ring, whenever he was in a dream he always wore it but not in the real world. Everytime Michael Cane is in a scene is the real world.
I think that it's left a bit ambitious on purpose, Jen, like the ending of 'Blade Runner' it lives it to the audience to decide. It's a great film.
Inception star Michael Caine revealed something of a behind-the-scenes trick to interpreting Inception's ending. In an old interview with Esquire, Caine, who plays Cobb’s mentor and father-in-law, revealed what Nolan told him when he struggled to understand Inception's script:
“When I got the script of Inception, I was a bit puzzled by it, and I said to (Chris), ‘I don’t understand where the dream is’. I said, ‘When is it the dream and when is it reality?’ He said, ‘Well, when you’re in the scene it’s reality.’ So, get that - if I’m in it, it’s reality. If I’m not in it, it’s a dream.” Crucially, Caine's Professor Stephen Miles is in Inception's final scene. That would suggest, at least by the rules Nolan established with Caine, that Inception's ending is set in reality and Cobb is not dreaming.
BTW Jen please react to "Tenet" is another Nolan masterpiece a mindblowing movie like this one.
Oh man!! I hope you watch some of Nolans older works like Memento!! Totally a mind F
DUNKIRK
3 different time perspectives sliced together for a single event
Jen: "Stop spinning!"
Christopher Nolan 14 years ago: *smiles mischievously*
If you watch "Inception" backwards, it's about a guy who abandons his kids to take a really long nap.
Christopher Nolan with another masterpiece. This was mind blowing: the cast, the camera shots, the story, the score everything about this movie was amazing. The hallway scene is incredible and it was done with no CGI which makes it even better.
Nominated for 8 Oscars including Best Picture but won for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Best Cinematography.
Oscars is kind of a joke. Its all about having the right friends in hollywood, and not about making a good movie
The rotating hallway remains the most amazing movie shot of all time.
This is definitely a Jen Murray Movie! Script, Acting, Score right on par. Hope you enjoyed it and Thanks!
And don't forget the explosions! Jen does love her explosions 😅
I perhaps need to rewatch it, I love Christopher Nolan movies, but I dislike inception for some reason. It’s in my opinion style over substance
This is my favorite movie of all time so I really enjoyed your reaction!
I actually did a persuasive essay on whether the ending was real or not for an English class in college and there’s a lot of evidence that it’s indeed reality.
1. The biggest reason I see for this is that Cobb was always aware of his reality, even in limbo the first time. He admits to that when Mal says “you don’t believe in one reality anymore, so choose here, choose me.” He argues, “no I know what’s real because no matter how confused I get, the guilt is always there reminding me of the truth.” As much as he wants it to be true and submit to delusion, anywhere Mal can show up, cannot be reality. She is gone and it was his fault and there’s no forgetting that. I think that’s truly why he uses her totem. It’s more symbolic…when he has a moment of doubt, he spins her totem (like he did in limbo when he planted her idea) and it’s a reminder of the guilt and it grounds him. Aside from that, as many have stated, his wedding ring is always present in the dream and not in reality. Ariadne asks him “why is it so important to dream?” And he replies “in my dreams, we’re still together.”
2. The kids. Despite the real-world fact that there are two sets of kids (and one set is credited as “older James” and “older Philippa” ) and the differences in clothing, (they are very similar in color and shape but look at screenshots, it’s different clothes), there’s the point about never seeing their faces. I liken that to dreams where, say, you’re trying to fix your hair or makeup but no matter how hard you try you can’t seem to get a good look in the mirror, or your driving and can’t for some reason look up out of the windshield. His children’s faces evade him like that in the dreams, I think. His subconscious feels guilt over leaving without saying goodbye and punishes him with that barrier. So being able to see their faces at the end is more than just oh he chose to wait and look at their faces. He could literally never get a glimpse in the dreams, even if he’d wanted to.
3. Michael Caine states that Nolan told him any scene he’s in is reality. So, boom, that’s easy.
4. Cobb says “you never really know how a dream starts, do you? You just end up in the middle of it. Think about it, Ariadne, how did you get here?” But once Cobb wakes up on the plane, we see his entire journey through the airport, through customs, and then home. I think that was all done intentionally. Cobb knows how he got there to his kids and so do we.
4. Finally, we get a good clip of how the spinning totem responds in the dream. The only instance we see of its function in a dream, is when Cobb plants the idea in Mal’s safe in limbo. In a dream, the top spins straight up as if it’s standing still, on and on. It never wobbles or wavers or moves in circles. At the end when he spins it, before the cut to black, it in fact wobbles.
I know people say the point is that he doesn’t care and I think that’s valid and I agree. (But I care! Lol) But I also think that’s the biggest clue that it’s reality. If that totem really was just a reminder of the guilt of what he did to Mal, he’s made his peace with it. All of that is finally in the past. He’s forgiven himself and atoned and made it home, so he has no need to look back for the reminder. He’s not suppressing the truth. He’s moving forward and letting go-not of the concept or belief in reality (because he’s sure of that now) but of Mal. Dreams and Mal are the past, reality and his children are the future.
I don't understand why this comment doesn't have more likes! Thanks a lot for your analysis! I can finally sleep better now
I've heard that whether or not it's real doesn't actually matter as much as the fact that he no longer cares if it's real.
EDIT: Also, his totem is not the top. His totem, from what people have said, is probably his wedding ring.
EDIT 2: One problem I see is that you mention his guilt is what kept him grounded in the real world. But if he's letting go of his guilt, how can he truly know it's the real world? I'm not saying he's still in limbo, I'm just thinking and questioning.
@@Soulsphere001that's correct that totem is his wife's. Rewatch the movie and you'll see his is in fact his wedding ring. When he had it on, he is dreaming. When he doesn't, he is not. At the end he does not.
@@Soulsphere001 I think we’re agreeing on the same things here. Idk if you read my whole comment, but I love having discussions about this movie and its themes and theories, so I’m gonna reply and clarify lol.
1. I acknowledge that the common opinion is “the reality doesn’t matter, only that he chooses to believe it’s reality.” However for a lot of viewers, that’s subjective, because many of us do care. And I think both things can be true. It can be reality and he also can be free of the need to determine whether it is or not.
2. I speak on the fact that the top isn’t his totem. It’s Mal’s. Therefore it doesn’t work for him anyway. And near the end of that paragraph I mention his true totem is his ring, backed up with a quote. What I was getting at with the top was, if WE know it’s not his totem and if HE knows it’s not his totem, WHY does he still spin it? There must be a purpose, so what is it? It’s not to check reality, so I believe it’s to remind him of the guilt when he’s especially confused (which is always when Mal is present). He literally says in the movie “I know what’s real because no matter what I do, the guilt is always there reminding me of the truth.” Even when he can’t fully believe or trust his totem(s), the guilt tells the truth. Shes dead and it’s his fault. So if she’s there, it can’t be reality, no matter how confused he is. And honestly, as a secondary point, I think Cobb is just so self-loathing that spinning the top and remembering the tragedy all over again every time is like him punishing himself too.
3. Like in the last point, the guilt grounds him when he’s especially confused. He could, in theory, make the totems behave how he wants them to, to believe what he wants to, when he’s in control of his dream (i.e limbo). But even if he wants to believe differently or eradicate the guilt, he can’t, even on a subconscious level. ESPECIALLY at a subconscious level. At the end of the movie, he’s no longer confused, because he’s no longer caught between dream and reality. He’s left dreams (and Mal) behind. There’s no more need to “check” if he’s grounded. By virtue of coming to terms with the past, forgiving himself, and moving on with his kids, he simply is. Or put another way, the guilt no longer grounds him, because the peace does.
I hope my thoughts make a little more sense now. I tend to ramble. Thanks for opening up the line of questioning and further reasoning, cause this movie is ripe for that!
@@stardust-scavenger1748
1. The reason I mention that reality doesn't matter is because one of the creators of the movie, I don't recall who it was though, mentions that the important thing isn't whether or not it's real but that Cobb no longer cares. That's the only reason I brought it up. But, you're right, people will naturally want to know if it's the real world or if he's still in limbo.
2. I recall now that I skimmed through your original comment. Sorry about that. "I believe it’s to remind him of the guilt when he’s especially confused". That makes a huge amount of sense, which seems to suggest that it's not exactly his ring that is his totem but his guilt is actually his totem but the top and the ring are the physical reminders of his guilt. That really is an interesting insight.
3. That makes a lot of sense, too. It's a more subtle way of giving a character in a story some character development. His experiences changed his outlook on life and he's no longer the same person he was.
Yeah, there's definitely a lot one can learn about the movie, Inception, through studying it. Is your essay online anywhere? I wouldn't mind reading it.
Nolan is a huge Bond fan. Note the climax of _Inception_ is one big homage to _On Her Majesty's Secret Service._
I've always thought Nolan-Hardy-DiCaprio would make a great Bond film together
Sort of like a modern twist on *_"A View To A Kill"_* with DiCaprio in the Christopher Walken American Tycoon role
Perfect if Tom Hardy were ever to be up for the role of Bond.
It is absolutely amazing how well Nolan communicates the rules of this world to us; this could very easily have been a movie that a person needs to watch three times before they have any clue what just happened, but instead it is completely comprehensible on first viewing.
43:16 that question has been debated for a decade, and Nolan is like..."Keep guessing!"
Hey Jen, I know you mentioned lucid dreaming to the max. ------ The entire concept for this movie came to Chris Nolan during his college years being sleep-deprived and going to classes not knowing if he was asleep or awake. ----- He eventually developed the script idea over time and got the chance to make the movie as he became more established in the industry. ----- What an amazing journey.
Paprika satoshi KON
Hey Jen, The end of "Inception" leaves it a mystery. Was Cobb in a dream or not. ------ Many people are not sure, but in an interview with (Michael Caine) aka Miles he says '' I asked Cristopher Nolan was that real at the end, and he said every scene you are in is real'.------- In other words, Michael Caine is with Dom at the end when he reunites with his children, and so we are back to reality. ------ It makes for a fun debate for sure.
The ending is ambiguous for a reason: Cobb no longer cares if he's in the real world or not as long as he's finally back with his children, so he walks away before seeing if the top falls
Except . . . he's been out of the country 10 years, yes? So why are his children the exact same age as they are in his memories?
@@vincelang3779 True, true. that is a strong point to be considered. ------ I think Nolan in his filming made them be the same age so the emotional hit at the end would be stronger when we see them reunite. ------- Plus it's the first time we see their faces and when he talked with them earlier in the movie they sounded like small children.
Plus he finally sees his kids' faces, in his dreams they're always looking away. Plus the top is not his totem so it's a red herring
It wasn’t a dream, the top started to wobble
This was the first movie I saw multiple times in IMAX not just because I wanted to. But because I HAD to. And it was a glorious experience each time.
This movie has one of my favorite soundtracks. I appreciate that Jen appreciates soundtracks as much as I do. It's surprising to me how many don't even notice soundtracks.
Hans Zimmer built the entire soundtrack off of the Edith Piaf song 'Non, Je ne regrette rien' that they use as the kick. The film is also the exact length in hours and minutes to minutes and seconds as the running time of the song. When the song is over the dream is over.
I love that Nolan used 5 of the actors from this in The Dark Knight Rises (Caine, Gordon-Levitt, Murphy, Cotillard, & Hardy)
Oh, and PS Jen...Saito was in Batman Begins.
Tops don't wobble a little bit and then go back to a stable continuous spin. He was back in the real world. Definitively.
This is a great movie that you should definitely watch again, Jen!!! And honestly the plot seems fairly easy to follow compared to Nolan's 2020 film Tenet... Which I highly recommend that you watch at some point, as well!
I think the official report from Nolan about the end is "Who knows?".... You know, Chris.. You know
It'll never stop amazing me there's so many people who haven't seen Inception yet!
And it gets better on repeat viewing!
The real kicker, Jen, is that the spin top isn't actually Cobb's totem, it's Mal's. Cobb's totem is his wedding ring. You only see him wearing it in the dream world and in the last scene of the movie he wasn't wearing it, letting us know he was in fact in the real world.
That is a common theory however there is both a supporting scene and a hole in that theory during the ending. They dont show hes ring finger in the last scene so we dont know if hes wearing the ring or not. They do show hes left hand but the way hes holding it its impossable to se if hes got a ring on it or not. What supports this theory is that we do se hes left hand when he hands over hes passport at the airport and there he isent wearing a ring.
I like the way Nolan does sci-fi: one hypothetical idea and build the rest of the world logically from that, rather than making every single thing fantastical.
0:17: my favorite composers of all time(so far):
1- Hans Zimmer (Inception/Dune)
2- Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galatica/ Outlander)
3- James Horner (Aliens/Titanic)
4- John Williams (Star Wars Franchise/Indian Jones Franchise)
5- Yoko Kanno(Cowboy Bebop/Ghost In the Shell TV series)
6- Ennio Morricone(The Good, the Bad and the Ugly/ The Hateful Eight)
7- Hiroyuki Sawano (“Shingeki no Kyojin”Attack on Titan/ The Seven Deadly Sins)
8- Vangelis (Chariots of Fire/Blade Runner)
9- Thomas Newman (WALL-E/ 1917)
Perfect list
Impressive you called Edith Piaf so quickly. Good musical taste. 😉
"She's a real charmer!" loved that line ...
Here's a neat theory to reconceptualize the movie in a new light: the real target of inception was not Fischer but Dominic Cobb himself, and it was Ariadne, hired by his father-in-law, who rigorously implanted the idea that he must forgive himself and let go of Mal.
I think that works as well. It would mean the entirety of the film was a dream(in layers) and he was never accused of murdering his wife and barred from returning to the US. It was all just him letting go and getting rid of a guilty conscious.
It is a known fact and confirmed by Nolan and Caine that anytime Michael Caine is a part of a scene then it is 100% the real world. So he does in fact go home and reunite with his kids in the real world.
I never heard that before, but it's a great theory!
Wow & Michael's line "get to the reality Cobb" gives this theory a huge support wtf I never saw this coming. This is like the story of the game called inside.
@aidarosullivan That is pretty much what I have posted on all the reactions to this film😊 always wondered why nobody else saw it(it is just a theory) but now I feel vindicated about all those posts 🎉🕺
It's not easy to realize without someone telling you;
Tom Hardy, who is Eames here, was Bane in the dark knight rises.
The idea that Mal didn't want to leave the dream world reflects reality - I've had plenty of dreams that were so much fun that when I woke up, I just wanted to go back into the dream again
@charlize1253 you should practice lucid dreaming. It lets you shape the dream and be ever aware as you are experiencing the dream. Pretty intense stuff.
I damn near always know I'm dreaming. Some not so fun and pretty You can actually wake yourself up sometimes
When this movie came out I was spellbound watching for the first time. So I can imagine how you felt. ----------- I watched it three times in a row at the movie theater. -------- See I of had this concept of being half asleep quite often. -------- I of course was nowhere near to the concept execution and world-building of Christopher Nolan. ------- The man is a mad genius.
One of the most innovative and engaging movies that I have ever seen. It has so many layers that each time you view it you get something new. Excellent!
2:45 - "this is boggling my mind" - you have _no_ idea. 😄
Fun fact that started as a fan theory but was eventually confirmed by Nolan himself. The whole setup of this movie is an allegory for the process of making a film. Each main character represents one of the key roles in the process:
Cobb - Director
Eames - Actor
Arthur - Producer
Ariadne - Set Designer
Saito - Studio
Fisher - Audience
Another fan theory that hasn't been confirmed is that Cobb's totem is actually his wedding ring. He is wearing it in all of the dream sequences but never wearing it in reality. It's fairly plausible because the spinning top was originally Mal's totem, meaning Cobb must have used something else before her death. It's possible that the zoom in to the top at the end is meant to be a red herring. Another factor is that we never see his children's faces in any of the dreams, and it's specifically referenced a couple times that he wanted to see their faces one more time. At the end we do finally see their faces, which to me suggests that the scene is reality. Can you tell that I really like this movie? I must have seen it at least 6 or 7 times.
"AHHTHERESLIKEATIMEDIFFERENCE!" (9.30)
I'm gonna turn that into a meme
Love ya Jen x
This is literally one of those movies that's so unique in its story and delivery that it only emerges once every 10-20 years.
I do consider this for the 2010s, what was The Matrix for 2000s, so yea :)
Hey Jen, Christopher Nolan movies are second to none and he has become one of the best film auteur of our generation. ------- He's surpassed James Cameron, and Frances Ford Coppola. His genius is simply on a next level. --------- The deep scientific concepts and details he is not only able to deliver but also convey to us in a language that we can understand is truly unprecedented. -------- Just like you said with adding the emotional weight, psychological distress that he places our protagonist under makes us also feel their pain at the deepest level. --------- I can't say enough about the Genius of Christopher Nolan. You must watch his entire catalogue.
The thing about the ending is that it DOESN'T MATTER what reality he is in, he is back with his kids, and that is all that matters to him.
Loved your reaction. Hans Zimmer is incredible. I've seen him twice and his music and live performance should be on everyone's bucket list. Inception. Interstellar. Gladiator. Pirates of the Caribbean. Rain Man. Dune. The Dark Knight. The Da Vinci Code. Pearl Harbor. Too many to list. If you can, see him in person. Music makes movies.
Michael Caine retired a few weeks ago. Sir Michael Caine. Legend
My favourite score by Hans Zimmer would be The DaVinci Code. With the piece "Chevalier De Sangreal" as my number one. It literally moves me to tears just listening to it. The movie is also awesome. :)
It's a great song
It was a happy ending, Michael Caine leaked years ago that any scene that he was involved in was the real world and Christopher Nolan confirmed what Caine said so it was definitely the real world and a happy ending. Great movie and score for sure! One of the best soundtracks of any movie.
I don't disagree with seeing it that way, but it's a somewhat ambiguous ending so 'death of the author' applies. The viewer is free to interpret it how how they feel and aren't bound by statements from the director, writer or actors. For a similar case, I've always chosen to interpret Pan's Labyrinth differently to statements made by Guillermo Del Toro about the extent to which the fantastical elements of the film are real vs the imagination of the protagonist.
unless they incepted Caine to believe that ....
@@alexbruce9499 I mean Nolan was upset at Caine for revealing it. It was fact, not an actors feeling lol
Lol love how into the movie you are. That noise you made at 40:28 was funny lmao. Good reaction!
I think all of Nolan's films have a cautionary note to them - Memento, The Prestige, even his Dark Knight trilogy is tinged with regret. The thing that gets me in this is the people in the Chemist's basement that go there EVERY DAY to go back into their 40 hr dream. It is like a drug. These people, like Cobb are not just burning the candle at both ends... the candle is in the fire. And that is why I believe that the entire movie is in Cobb's mind.
And if you watch the end credits all the way through, the music changes into the Edith Piaf song. Telling the audience they are about to wake up from the movie.
42:27 My fave reaction to the top/icon still spinning at the end!!
I saw the Hans Zimmer live performance as well and the piece he played from this film gave me goose bumps :) He also played a suite from Rain Man, which is one of my absolute favorite scores.
The little pinwheel toy in the safe always sends me in teary-eyes mode. :P I'm simple like that. 😥
Because it symbolizes fatherly love. It is the ultimate proof that the inception worked, in my opinion.
When I watched it, I thought that his kids' faces had somehow became his totem. So when the kids turned around in the end, it meant it was real. If you like Zimmer, look up Hanz Zimmer and Scott Hoying (with Mario Jose). They combine one of his pieces here (Time) with beautiful lyrics from... Is it L.P.? It's gorgeous.
This for me is Nolans true magnum opus. Its a scifi MASTERPIECE. Everything from the writing, dialogue, acting, cinematography and my god the score!! Nolan loves an ambiguous ending and it raised questions for Michael Caine. So in an interview Michael was asked his thoughts on the ending. Michael said he asked Nolan if it was a dream at the end and Nolan said every scene Michael was in was reality. The spinning top wobbling then the cut was just to make the audience question it. A very simple but deceiving ploy. But no matter how you cut it, this film is absolute 😙👌🏼
Glad you enjoyed it Jen
Best from 🏴
P.s When you watch this you see so many actors Nolan cast in his Dark Knight trilogy.
One of the big reasons so many people in this movie are from The Dark Knight is partially as this was the idea he had before he even started TDK Trilogy. He wanted to do the Batman Trilogy to prepapre him for a movie on this scale and, shockingly, the studio weren't confident in him pulling this off. Seems like a wild concept these days considering how Nolan might be the biggest direcftor in the world today. It also factored into why Zimmer did TDK soundtrack too.
Between Inception, The Dark Knight and Interstellar, Nolan put together three of the most stunning movies of all time in just 6 years. Three of my all-time favourites too.
Joseph Gordon Leavitt (Arthur) started out on a hilarious 90s sitcom called Third Rock from the Sun, the guy they are trying to convince of his father's love is Cillian Murphy. He was in Batman Begins, Dunkirk, and he also played Oppenheimer in the new film. He is a brilliantly gifted actor and is fantastic in the new film.
Yes. Definitely rewatch. Inception is one of those movies, that the more you rewatch it, the more you'll get out of it. i've seen it about 10 times so far and each time i notice something new that makes it that much better.
According to Christopher Nolan, every since with Michael Caine is a clue that it's taking place in the real world, not a dream.
Tenet is Inception on steroids. Inception does warrant re-watches, at least one or two. Tenet is a film you have to watch half a dozen times to fully wrap your head around it, if you're lucky enough to ever fully wrap your head around it.
The ending with the wobble is Nolan's way of showing you that Cobb does not care what world this is anymore and after seeing the kids faces, he wants to stay there. That is why he never wanted to see their faces in the other levels.
You should watch the movie that put Christopher Nolan on the map, where he first started playing with timelines and memory: "Memento"
Williams, Zimmer, Soule, Horner
My "Big Four" of movie//game music composers. 👍
I am at the tail end of the video.. it's live for me but not for Jenn ... I am in Jenn's Inception! 😂😂😂
Hi Jen for you recognizing so many actors, Nolan is emulating John Ford in assembling his acting troupe. It’s why you keep seeing the same actors showing up in so many of Nolan’s movies. Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine, Joseph gordon lewit. Once he got a good feeling for an actor, he loves to continue working with them.
42:37 The top wobbling was to show that he is in the real world, in the dream the top spins forever.
Great reaction like always, There are thrillers, and then there are thrillers. Gripping every second and couching its pages of exposition in the smartest way possible, this movie is original filmmaking at its finest i love Nolan movie. There are some fun-facts about it Christopher Nolan thought of the idea behind this movie when he was 16, and the script took him 10 years to write, Cobb's team used the French song "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien," which translates to "No, I Don't Regret Anything" in English, as a "kick" to signal that it's time to leave a dream. Translated in English, "No, absolutely nothing / No, I regret nothing / It is paid, done, forgotten / I don't care about the past," may allude to Cobb and Saito's recurring line: "Do you want to become an old man, filled with regret, waiting to die alone?" The song is also a direct contrast to Cobb's inability to let go of his late wife, Mal. The cast and crew traveled to a total of six countries while filming this film the locations included the U.S., Morocco, Canada, France, the U.K., and Japan. Nolan's son Magnus played James, Cobb's son. Nolan also cast his cousin, Miranda, as a flight attendant. Joseph Gordon-Levitt said the scene in the hallway was both the most fun and the most painful experience he's ever had on a set. Arthur's totem, an object that signifies whether or not he's in a dream or reality, is a red pair of dice. When he shows it to Ariadne, the side with five dots faces the camera. In his dream at the hotel, the number appears several times. The hotel has at least five floors, and two "5" signs frame Gordon-Levitt several times during the zero-gravity fight scene. The license plates in Yusuf's dream were marked as "The Alternate State." The characters' dreams are filled with subtle hints that separate the subconscious from the real world. Though a minor detail, Nolan changed the cars' license plates to read "The Alternate State," dropping a hint that the action scene was happening in a dream. The scene between Cobb and Miles was shot at the architecture school at University College London, the university where Nolan studied English and met his wife Emma Thomas. Miles makes a reference to DiCaprio's role in "Catch Me If You Can." "Extradition between France and the United States is a bureaucratic nightmare," Cobb told Miles as he discusses his plan to return home to his children in the U.S. That line is a reference to his role as Frank Abagnale Jr., who gets arrested in France and sent back to the U.S. in the film "Catch Me If You Can." Keep up the good work.
Excellent and very informative intel here my friend, Thank you from down under!
1. The film's title would be slightly more accurate if it were "Instigation".
2. "Robert Fischer" is the name of one of the world's greatest chess players. He was the World Champion in 1972, but afterward went into semi-seclusion and became very unstable, declaring himself "still" the champion even after he didn't defend his title in a timely manner. Eventually a movie was made titled "Searching For Bobby Fischer", but it was actually about finding the next child chess prodigy instead of him.
3. This film makes a good companion piece to "Tenet", or maybe the other way around, which is very apt.
4. Over a year before the film was released, there was a Scrooge McDuck comic book which told a similar story, where the Beagle Boys entered Scrooge's subconscious to get the password (or whatever) to his money vault. Donald Duck found out about it and had to enter the dream to stop them. One of their best stories ever made, and it made lots of references to Scrooge's past that, if you know the history, was very rewarding.
He definitely wasn't dreaming at the end, because earlier when he is visiting his memories he said he could never see his kids faces unless he went back in person. So he didn't bother waiting for his totem to stop spinning because his kids faces were a totem.
Edith Piaf: played to an Oscar-winning level, by Ms Cobb. First hearing of that tune here blew my mind.
It was not a dream at the end. He sees their faces, and Nolan has said that whenever Michael Caine is there you are in reality.
It's important to remember that the top was Mal's totem, not Cobb's. It couldn't tell him if he was dreaming.
I never thought of this until Jen said "the star of this movie was the story." With how good this movie and story are, would it have been delivered as well without this absolute all star cast they assembled. Seems like in the theme of the movie she created this thought within my head.
There is an argument that says the whole movie is Cobb's dream. He's just subconsciously creating a maze and then battling his own aggressive projections to complete it.
The hallway fight scene is my favorite action scene of all time. Mind-bending and mind-blowing. Such a cool idea and it is even more amazing because it is real and shot in camera.
A true piece of cinematic masterwork, it’s also a movie with an ending truly left open to interpretation. I think the discussion that was had about whether Cobb is in reality or not at the end is clearly by design, but also missing the point a bit. In the end, Cobb is either in a dream where he can be happy, or he’s in reality and can be happy. Either way, his obsessive checking of the totem has stopped, which means he no longer cares. Thus, we the audience don’t get to definitively know and we never will. Where he ends up is really up to you and what you need the story to be. Is he still dreaming, trapped in a limbo state where he can imagine a happy ending, or has he escaped with his team and returned to his children? …yes…
Also, my absolute favorite interpretation of the entire movie is that it’s a movie about how creative people make movies. A team assembles, sketches out ideas and concepts, they builds the sets, guide the audience through an emotional journey they’ve scripted (be it a theater of people or an audience of one, ie, Fischer), a catharsis is reached, and we leave to contemplate or discuss the implications. Levels within levels throughout. Such good stuff.
My favorite movie of all-time!! The concept is so REALISTIC and has so many things that make you remember how dreams appear and how we experience dreaming vs reality. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE everything about this film every time that I watch it!!
Your reactions are so great to it also! So many unanswered and unopenend concepts and questions.
We never really remember when and where a dream starts, just how they end or the unknown of how it was going to end before we abruptly wake up. Remembering a dream can be super difficult for some but easy for others. It is all in our mind and scientists can't even understand exactly how the brain works still, so why wouldn't companies be working to understand and hack into people's brains to influence them to buy certain products or believe certain things? It is ALL so real and possible.
Also that top has been handled by 3 people, 2 of them living. It's almost as if at the table, Cobb traded his only way of knowing he's dreaming to Saito for his freedom.
11:50 Mad Max and Bane...
Preator Shinzon
Sweet reaction, Jen! I wondered how long it would take for you to see this. A rewatch is a must. When I saw this movie the first time, it seemed so familiar, because I always had vivid dreams as a child. Later, as my control increased, these became less frightening, and vivid dreams became beneficial experiences. For those familiar with lucid dreams, this movie really hits all the right notes! A fun concept film that might even provide some guidance for lucid dreamers. I got red pilled on this one. 😂
Hans Zimmer is my favorite modern composer. Wish his channel was more active.
I read somewhere that the top is not Cobbs' totem it is Mal's, so it doesn't work properly for him. Cobbs' totem is his wedding ring. In reality, he does not have that ring on his finger.
Part way through the movie, Leo's character gets put to sleep by the chemist. Shortly after that there's a scene where he goes to spend the top and it falls on the floor, that's the last time we see him even think about that thing. It's entirely possible that from the moment that he gets put to sleep by the chemist, the entire rest of the movie is his dream
There's been so many arguements when this first came out about whether he finally woke up. A throw-away comment earlier in the movie that really muddies the water is the one about never touching someone else's totem....the spinning top was Mal's totem, not Cobb's. There is a further theory that Cobb's actual totem is his wedding ring...
The ending is ambiguous for a reason: Cobb no longer cares if he's in the real world or not as long as he's finally back with his children, so he walks away before seeing if the top falls
I'm not all to familiar with Nolan's work, as I've seen a few films of his, but no super fan by any stretch, but this movie is a masterpiece in film making. The story, the characters, the special effects, all of it comes together for one of the greatest movies I've ever seen. I'm normally not a big fan of cinema in general, as most movies rate at "C-" to "D+" in my book, so when an "A+" movie comes along, it's all the more special. I could see how this movie isn't for everyone, but for those who "get it", it really is a special film, and I hope you enjoy it.
Glad you picked this one. This is so well constructed movie, the scenes are somehow all connected if you look really into it (couple of watches needed). And the score, its phenomenal.
And you got most of my favorite actors in one movie. 10/10
People in the Dark Knight trilogy also in this movie: Bane, Scarecrow, Alfred, fake Ra's Al Ghul, Talia Al-Ghul, "Robin".
I have a deep love for film scores too and this one is near the top. The one sci-fi score that I think tops it is Clint Mansell’s score for “The Fountain”. It’s a polarizing film but I think you’d appreciate it.
This is still my favorite Nolan film. Seeing it in IMAX was amazing.
You should definitely check out Memento and Tenet since you enjoyed this one.
She should definitely watch "Memento," it's the movie that put Christopher Nolan on the map and where he first started playing with timelines and memory
I had to search for a mention of Memento in the comments! That's the movie Jen was asking to see at the end of the reaction!
The Film has the answer to if it is a Dream or not at the end.
Cobb's ring.
In the Dreams, he is always wearing his Wedding Ring, but not in reality.
Friend took me to see this and I knew nothing about it. Saw it, loved it and went back the very next day to see it again with my gf. Edit: that little sound after it cuts to black at the end 😂
What a lovely blue sweater Jen 👍
The cowl makes it so regal.
The discussions and theories out of the theater were insane. Facebook and Twitter were also newish at the time and there were so many pictures and inforgraphics explaining things😂 I think Cobb’s real totem is his wedding ring. He wears his wedding ring when he's in a dream, but not when he's in the real world. However, the final scene deliberately doesn’t show the left hand or finger
You noticed that the wakeup theme was Edith Piaf. It's interesting that the Marion Cotillard (the actress who played "Mal") won her Best Actress Oscar playing Edith Piaf in the 2007 film _La_ _Vie_ _En_ _Rose_ (aka, _La_ _Môme_ in many countries). That movie is also definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it.
The spinning top wasn't Cobb's totem, it was Mol's. Cobb's totem is his wedding ring. He's wearing it when he's dreaming and it's absent in the real world.
Hello Jen.
Are you aware that the snow scene with the fortress on the mountain is directly inspired by James Bond’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
It is Christopher Nolan’s favourite Bond film.
This movie hurts my brain. Its defiantly one of those you have to watch 2 or 3 times to really get. I'm proud of you for getting as much as you did on your first run through. lol It was absolutely spectacular on the big IMAX screen back when it was released.
Mind melting 🤯😂well done Jen❤️love you joining in with the music😂🫶🏽
Pretty much everyone freaked out over the wobble... welcome to the club!! Great reaction
I want to sample whatever Nolan was taking while making this film. Mind shattering.
At the end of the credits there’s a sound which might be the totem falling over and stopping.
Prop Jen is best Jen. Every time the bow tie, champagne glass or fat stacks come out I giggle.
the ultimate mind game…bravo Mr. Nolan 👏
one of the BEST movies of christopher nolan beside INTERSTELLAR and TENET.
Watch every Nolan, they're all interesting, and have great score, whether it's Zimmer or Goransson. And it's a great feeling to have seen all the work of an artist and have all the cards to try to interpret it.
He saw his kids faces at the end, so he‘s not in a dream! (The spinner was Maude‘s totem, not his)
My favorite Michael Caine movie is Secondhand Lions.
Robert Duvall and Haley Joe Osment.
This is one of the film Christopher Nolan made between the Batman films (I think the other one was the Prestige, I could be wrong, it may have been Interstellar). And yes the top still spinning with a slight wobble is ambiguous on purpose.