If his first decade of filmmaking was a time of guilt and fantasy, then his second decade has been entirely optimistic - Batman is freed, the soldiers of Dunkirk make it home, and Tenet’s Protagonist learns to become the best version of himself - with Inception acting as the bridge between these two worlds.This piece originally ran in 2010. And this is exactly what the new Nolan has created.
#INCEPTION LIMBO FREE#
Inception’s resurrection of the character Cobb - Following’s side character who gets away with murder - into this new main character, who is finally set free of guilt, acts as Nolan’s first moment where he switches his focus from those who are lost to those who are saved, even after doing bad things.
#INCEPTION LIMBO SERIES#
But after learning that the burglar’s name is Cobb and that he is responsible for the death of the woman, Following’s relationship to Inception - and the rest of Nolan’s work - becomes so clear that it feels almost as though Nolan’s seven films over those 12 years were all connected from the start, a series of dots connecting one Cobb to another.
Yes, Following doesn’t end well for the main character, and it does have some elements of fantasy taking over reality, as the unnamed protagonist becomes lost in a new persona after meeting a charismatic burglar, but this isn’t based around either guilt or grief since the murder that occurs in the film comes well after his transformation begins.
#INCEPTION LIMBO MOVIE#
“We had our time together and I have to let you go,” he tells her, and it is at this moment that the audience knows Cobb has found the beginnings of peace.īut what about Following? Nolan’s first movie initially doesn’t seem to fall into these themes and patterns in the same way his other pre- Inception films do. After Cobb and Mal’s final scene together in a dream, Cobb remembers them as they actually were: old and in love, having spent an entire life together in limbo. Cobb leaves the top spinning because, as soon as he sees his children’s faces, he realizes he no longer needs the top, which was just a physical reminder of his grief. The audience learns that the top isn’t even Cobb’s it was Mal’s totem that he clung to after her death. The spinning top in Inception is no longer seen as a test of whether Cobb is dreaming, but actually, if he is still in pain. This is what makes Inception such an interesting move for Nolan, as it is the first time he allows one of his main characters the offer of redemption. The endings to each of these five movies are downers, with the protagonists either dying or falling deeper into their own madness, unable to escape the power of their own guilt. Is that a slight wobble, proving it is about to fall and Cobb is back in the real world? Or is this just one more layer of the dream, and Cobb continues to live in fantasy as the top spins on? But as the ending lingers, it is clear that this isn’t the main question to be asked and, honestly, is barely worth asking at all, as Inception tackles concepts bigger than this, themes that have been consistently present throughout his entire filmography up to this point. The initial question is, of course, what happens to the top. As Cobb is whisked out of frame holding his daughter and son as the camera pulls in on just the top, Inception cuts to black before the audience knows if it succumbs to gravity or keeps on spinning. The final shot of Inception is of this top spinning on a table as Cobb is finally reunited with his children after years of being on the run and finally being cleared of the murder of his wife, Mal.
RELATED: Christopher Nolan Explains Why He Prefers Theatrical Cuts Over Director's Cuts
0 kommentar(er)
