Inception: Choosing The Lie

***Spoiler Alert*** If you have not seen Inception, but intend to, read no further.

In the end, was it a dream or was Leo's return to his children a reality? Was that damn top about to topple over and provide a happy ending for Dom Cobb?

Without a true sense of closure, we are left with only theory. A recent discussion I had with a friend of mine revolved around his insistence that Cobb did indeed return to his children, and that totem was just about to tip over.

I disagree entirely.

First off, when Cobb touches down at the airport and is taken to his children, the scene is just a bit too perfect, too idyllic, too...well, dreamlike. When he enters the home, he finds his children are not only the same age as when he last saw them, but are wearing the same exact clothes. Earlier in the movie, Cobb references having been away from his kids for years. Considering both children appear to be in the 4-6 age range, they would look considerably different after even just two years. As well, there isn't a chance in hell that those same clothes would fit them. From a practical perspective, the only way Dom could have returned to his children and find them in the exact same state that he left them in is in either a dream or by use of a time machine. And since this is Chris Nolan's movie and not H.G. Wells,' I'm going with the former.

Of course, the preceding paragraph is an evidence based argument as opposed to an artistic one. In considering the latter, I think it's important to consider Nolan's modus operandi.

***Spoiler Alert part deux*** If you have not seen Memento, Insomnia, or The Dark Knight, or have been living under a rock, read no further.

In Memento, the tortured character played by Guy Pearce is searching for the murderer of his wife while dealing with the after effects of the beating he took when his wife was killed--leaving him with a horrendous case of short term memory loss. At the end of the film, Pearce's character makes a conscious decision to NOT resolve the mystery because to do so would leave him with no purpose in life. He chooses the lie.

In Nolan's follow up film, Insomnia (a remake of a Norwegian film by the same name), the police officer played by Al Pacino "accidentally" shoots his partner while tracking a serial killer in Alaska. As the film continues, Pacino is less and less certain if he shot his fellow detective on accident or on purpose. His partner was due to testify against Pacino in an internal affairs case that could end his career. In the end, as his character has become disoriented by the constant sunlight of the Alaskan summer, the obsessive nature of the serial killer chase, and his own guilt, he is still unsure of his own motives. Was the shooting an accident? Probably so. But was there a part of him that was satisfied that his partner would not be able to testify against him? Yes, indeed. As the local cop played by Hilary Swank stands over top of his dying body, he tells her not to "lose her way" like he did. Not to choose the lie.

In Nolan's most popular film to date, The Dark Knight, he takes a near sociopathic look at the Batman character played by Christian Bale. The movie asks many questions about vigilantism , torture, and the duality of man. Batman believes that Gotham City needs a "white knight" to counteract his darker version of criminal justice. He finds such a man in District Attorney, Harvey Dent, played so well by Aaron Eckhardt. However, later in the film when Dent is disfigured by the Joker and the love of his life murdered, Eckhardt loses his mind and becomes "Two-Face." He then goes on a murderous spree deciding the fate of his victims with the toss of a coin. During the film's climax, Batman saves Lieutenant Gordon's family from Two-Face, and kills him in the process. Knowing that if Dent's diabolical conversion is made public that it would be a severe blow to the citizens of Gotham City, Batman convinces Gordon to let him take the rap for the murders. Once again, the character chooses the lie.

Obviously, this is a consistent theme in Nolan's films. Characters who choose the lie because it is more expedient, or simply less painful. They sacrifice honesty for a seemingly less complicated option. Of course, that choice is fraught with it's own perplexity. How long can you live a lie before it destroys you (Insomnia), or potentially drives you to the brink of madness (Inception, The Dark Knight, Memento)?

This is what makes Nolan perhaps the most fascinating mainstream filmmaker around. His unwillingness to provide clean answers. But the answers are there, you just have to dig for them, and accept that the result may well be a grim one.

You have to be willing to accept the conclusion that Dom Cobb reaches in Inception. He chooses the lie.

Sumo-Pop
August 5, 2010