This article mentions suicide.
Christopher Nolan's Inception's ending boasting such a subjective nature is a large part of why the movie is still talked about today, there are also several ongoing conversations about the rules Nolan wrote that his characters had to abide by while dreaming.
As one of the best of Inception's cast isn't only riddled with huge names, but every star contributes to the thrilling storyline with incredible performances. It can be difficult at times to understand the movie's logic, especially in the scenes that move at a faster pace than others. However, that doesn't mean Inception's writer/director forgot to explain certain goings-on - even if said explanations aren't always explicitly provided in the form of dialogue.
Time Moves Faster In Inception's Dream World
Minutes in the real world can stretch to hours, weeks, months, years, or even decades in dreams
The age of time in Inception's dream world is a pivotal mechanic for the story to make sense. In short, time rushes by in dreams, although it doesn't seem like it to those experiencing them firsthand. For instance, Arthur explains to Ariadne early in the movie that five minutes in the real world equates to roughly one hour in the dream. However, certain factors can alter this ratio. Things like the sedatives and types of compounds being used to dream-share can boost and/or reduce the amount of time a dreamer experiences compared with the real world.
Dreams in Inception also never start at the "beginning," with the characters finding themselves in the middle of events with no memory of how they got there. Experienced Extractors are aware they've transitioned into a shared dream.
Perhaps the most relevant thing to consider is how many dreams deep the person is at the time. Inception's famous dream-within-a-dream concept doesn't come without consequences. Just one level down, time stretches roughly to somewhere near Arthur's initial explanation. When a dreamer then enters a successive dream state, those five minutes on the surface can stretch far more. By the time an Inception character reaches Limbo - the deepest level possible - they can find themselves stuck for what they perceive to be decades - just like Mal and Cobb's time spent building their own world.
Why Inception's Characters Have Totems (& How They Work)
Everyone's Totem in Inception is unique
The rules of physics only loosely apply during dreams in Inception. That being said, it can still be difficult to delineate between a dream and reality - just like in the real world. To avoid being caught in a whirlwind of confusion, each character has a small, uniquely altered item called a Totem. How a Totem feels, weighs, and balances should only be known to the owner. This way, they'll be aware that there are differences in the event they find themselves in someone else's dream.
Arthur's Totem is a loaded die, and Ariadne's is an altered chess piece.
For instance, Cobb's Totem - which once belonged to Mal - is a spinning top that only falls after a specific length of time known only to Cobb. If he were to suspect he was in someone else's dream, he could spin his Totem, and the dreamer's lack of knowledge regarding the item's unique quirks would result in it acting differently than usual. If the Totem were to behave normally, Cobb would know he was experiencing his own dream - even if others were also there. In addition, the top spinning endlessly would provide a blanket explanation that he was dreaming at all.
Which Circumstances Result In Someone Getting Trapped In Limbo
Limbo can be difficult to come back from for those who reach it
Limbo is the lowest level of dreaming in Inception. As mentioned earlier, minutes outside the dream stretch into decades in Limbo, and the surrounding environment is under-formed without any real structure. Because of that, it can be manipulated much easier - as proven by Mal and Cobb's massive (but unpopulated) city. In a shared dream, anyone who ends up in Limbo will find whatever was left behind by anyone else in the dream who had been there before. Interestingly, there is more than one way to get to the enigmatic setting.
There are also only certain ways a dreamer can be woken up - even in Limbo. Dying in a dream, as long as the dreamer isn't too heavily sedated, will wake up the dreamer. The sensation of falling - known as a Kick - will also do the trick.
The simplest way - if there is such a thing - to get to Limbo is to voluntarily keep descending down the dream levels. This is how Mal and Cobb got there. The other way isn't really by choice - at least, it isn't always. With Cobb's team so heavily sedated to help them pull off their ambitious dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream plan, it's revealed that dying in any of the levels wouldn't cause the dreamer to wake up - as would usually be the case.
The simplest way - if there is such a thing - to get to Limbo is to voluntarily keep descending down the dream levels.
Instead, they would end up in Limbo. While this seems like it would be a pretty grim way to spend so many years, Inception provides a macabre way out. If a dreamer takes their own life in Limbo, then they wake up. While it makes the whole threat of Limbo a little inert, the act that needs to be carried out to free a character from their trippy prison is proven to be an understandably difficult task. It's especially prevalent when Mal is no longer sure if she's dreaming or not, and taking her own life could result in actual death rather than waking up at home.
Everyone's Mind Has Pretty Much The Same Way Of Hiding Information
Inception characters conceal their secrets in mentally projected vaults and safes
Dream Extractors through the years have made note of how people keep their secrets safe. In short, the mind manifests one of the most symbolically salient items possible. Inception reveals the method of hiding certain secrets from Extractors is to subconsciously stow them away in a mental projection of a safe, bank vault, or something similar. That way, Cobb's team - and presumably other groups of Extractors in the world of Inception - have to pull off what is otherwise a pretty traditional heist.
Inception's Dream Timeline Explained (In Full)
Cobb’s mission in Christopher Nolan’s Inception happens on four different dream levels, with each of them having their own dreamer, layout, and kick.
The entire concept of Inception can be pretty difficult to comprehend without solid and familiar imagery to rely on. Because of this, Nolan's inspired choice to use safes that represent a person's most personal and important secrets serves the movie very well. It may seem a little on-the-nose, but with a movie like Inception, not everything can be left open to interpretation.
The Environment Outside The Dream Can Effect What's Happening In The Lower Levels
Gravity, weather, & other factors can bleed into dreams
Dreams may seem like a self-contained reality within the world of the movie, but the immediate environment of the dreamer in the real world can and does directly impact what's happening in the dream. This is demonstrated a few times, but no instance is more prominent than when Yusuf drives the bus off the bridge, and Arthur is left to operate with no gravity in the dream below. Because it's Arthur's dream, and he's in the falling vehicle, the laws of physics at the hotel level obey the criteria forced upon it in the level above.
It's not just external environments that can be brought into the dream.
Similarly, the hotel corridor rotates when the bus spins out of control. However, it's not just external environments that can be brought into the dream. A dreamer's mental state can also influence what a dream looks and feels like. In the first dream, this quirk can be seen in action when Yusuf's intense need to pee manifests itself as very heavy rain. He's teased about it, but it's actually a big piece of worldbuilding for the movie.
Dream Extraction Is So Complex That It Requires An Entire Team
The process of Inception requires exactly the same lineup as Extraction
Extractors are presumably standing on the shoulders of their predecessors, as defined roles have been established over time. Most of Cobb's team in Inception have a title, and it would stand to reason that they aren't the only ones in the world who can do that job - although there will invariably be different levels of skill and experience on a person-by-person basis. Heists like the ones shown in the movie would be next to impossible to pull off alone, so there's a lot of delegating from the squad's leader - Cobb.
Extraction Teams in Inception can be hired, usually underhandedly, by employers like Saito. The process doesn't seem to be part of mainstream culture but is rather something approaching criminal activity.
DiCaprio's character is the Extractor. Simply put, he's the overseer of each operation, and usually the person who physically removes the idea or secret from a person's safe/mind. Arthur is the Point Man, who is essentially Cobb's second-in-command. Ariadne is brought in to replace Cobb's former Architect, with the role responsible for deg the landscape of the dreams. Tom Hardy's Eams is a Forger, and his skill set revolves around impersonating those close to the target while in the dream. Yusuf, the Chemist, formulates bespoke compounds for the operation to be possible.
The Dream Host Doesn't Need To Stay The Same Through Every Level
Inception makes sure no character enters their own dream more than once
Going down more than one dream level would appear to be a signature move of Cobb and his team. Usually, a squad like Cobb's would usually enter the mind of a target, and it would be as simple as that. While going down another level is shown to be possible - and an ingenious development - Inception doesn't ever reveal what would happen if the dreamer's second dream is entered while they're still asleep.
Why Christopher Nolan Never Made Inception 2
Despite being regarded as one of his best movies, Christopher Nolan never made a sequel to 2010's Inception. Here's why Inception 2 hasn't happened.
Instead, a complex web of interconnected dreams is woven. The first dream (the city), is Yusuf's. From there, the rest of the team, other than Yusuf, enter Arthur's dream - the hotel. After Cobb's Mr. Charles gambit, the team enters their mark's dream. Again, they leave Arthur behind. The movie doesn't fully explore other combinations and possibilities, but it's a fascinating thing to think about.
A Dreamer's Subconscious Populates The Environment With Other People
Robert Fischer's militarized Projections are a huge problem for Cobb's team
Although Architects can design the physical environment of a dreamscape in Inception, it doesn't appear to be possible to generate people - fictitious or otherwise. Instead, beings other than real people are unconsciously generated by the dreamers. These characters - known as Projections - are primarily rooted in the main dreamer's mind, but the others sharing the dream also contribute to the surrounding "people." Particularly strong memories of specific people can disrupt the mission, as proven by Cobb's inability to contain his warped memory of Mal.
Disrupting the dream too much or too often can alert a dreamer's Projections to their presence, which can make things get violent.
High-value targets like Fischer are always in danger of being subjected to Extraction, so there are countermeasures that people like him can take to reduce the chance of an Extraction team being successful. Cobb's team meets almost immediate resistance from Fischer's Projections, which have been militarized due to Fischer's conditioning against such attempts on his subconscious. It's one of the finer and lesser-explained facets of Inception's canon, which is a shame, as it's also one of the most intriguing.
Inception
- Release Date
- July 16, 2010
- Runtime
- 148 minutes
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
Cast
Cobb
Joseph Gordon-LevittArthur
WHERE TO WATCH
Inception, directed by Christopher Nolan, features a skilled thief who uses dream-sharing technology to steal corporate secrets. He is tasked with planting an idea into a CEO's mind, while confronting his troubled past, which threatens the mission and his team.
- Writers
- Christopher Nolan
Your comment has not been saved