If you haven’t seen Christopher Nolan’s Inception, you should stop reading here. Better yet, if you haven’t seen the film then you need to be in a theater line somewhere with your overpriced ticket in hand. That being said, a new video from College Humor plays the role of spoiler and astutely points out that you just can’t please some people. The video is meant to be an extended ending of Inception and is complete with an audience reaction that proves just how easily our perception of a film (and all other films from a particular filmmaker) can be swayed simply by its closing seconds.
Regardless of how you felt about the movie and its ending, I think you will appreciate what the video has to say. Personally, I loved it from alpha to omega and feel as if disregarding a film’s achievements simply because you disliked the ending is a hyper-critical approach that devalues the importance of every image up until the last one. Besides, nobody likes an armchair filmmaker (seriously, though, people make fun of you at parties). All ranting aside, hit the jump to check out the video for yourself and let us know how you feel about Inception’s ending in the comments.
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Honestly, during the last shot, my friends and I were whispering “go to credits, go to credits..” and when it did, we exploded in applause and laughter. We loved it. I don't think the real question here is “what really happened?” but more of “do we really need to see it?”. I myself have my own, not a theory but a definite interpretation that I'm sure about, with regards to the ending but I acknowledge that the ending was fitting for such a story. A story where a man doubted his reality so much that he needs a totem for confirmation. The ending shows us that Cobb no longer needs that confirmation and so does the audience. Thanks, everyone and have a great day!
Couldn't agree with you more. I personally enjoyed the entire heist story line the most, and found Cobb's story to be less compelling, though it ends up being less about “was it all a dream” and more about the fact that Cobb dealt with his psychological trauma for better or worse. It hasn't been noted that much that immediately after seeing his kids' faces, he leaves the totem spinning to go see them. (Obviously they're the same age they always have been, and in the same place he was when he left…it's a dream…but still…not the point)
The fact is that he lets go of the totem. The thing is his freaking crutch throughout the entire film and he just lets it go. It's a great way to deal with the resolution, though I think this is way overshadowed by the cut to black. The cut both draws attention to it and away from it at the same time.
Once again, it's fitting.
Spot on with the “not the point” statement. I couldn't disagree more with your interpretation but debating about it would be irrelevant. I mean the real issue here is just how disturbing Cobb's doubt of reality is. He actually sits in a hotel room, spinning his totem with a gun in hand, ready to “wake himself up” if the top spins too long. Yet in the end, he just lets go of that paranoia as he did with Mal.
I don't see how that ending could have been done better.
Also, that “Dark Knight sucks” in the College Humor Video is just sick, man! Haha! Some might call that blasphemous here!
I, for one am glad that the ending is the slightest bit ambiguous. I just hope that this is not an overly subtle way of leaving it open to a sequel. Some stories just need to be left as they are. I mean, look what they did to The Matrix!!!
Did anyone notice something about the ending. The children were wearing the same exact clothes as they did in Cobb's projections. They didn't age? When they “failed” at getting into Saito's mind, and left him on train in the “real” world, yet how did they get on the train in the first place? I know, Cobb spun his totem and it fell later, but this makes me lean towards that he did not make it home. his father, who led him the way home at the end, and even told him at one point to “come back to reality,” is the architect of everything. It was all a dream.
The kids at the end were played by different actors who were two years older than the kids in the rest of the movie. They are listed in the credits. The kids aged.
It was the best possible ending the film could have had. Perfect.
He clearly woke up.
They accomplished the mission, he came to terms with Mal not being real, he was able to let go of his guilt, he stayed in limbo to find Saito so Saito can make the call. Theres no reason for him to stay dreaming. He walks away from the totem because he knows it's real.
But yeah, either way you see it it's a good movie.
How they got on the train is a non issue. The “come back to reality” line can be said to anyone going through troubles. It's not a big deal.
He clearly woke up. It's a lot more straight forward then people are making it out to be.
Actually, the clothes are slightly different and the kids HAVE aged…They're even played by different actors. But they're extremely close in appearance and, of course, that was done on purpose, just to add even more to the ambiguity. It could mean it's real, or it could mean that, still asleep, Cobb is projecting the image of his kids he has in his mind in the same spot, but just a bit older.
That's what I love about the movie. There is evidence for both sides, but nowhere near enough to be conclusive either way. You can look at it and interpret it anyway you want. Until Nolan actually comes out and explains it, it's all down to personal interpretation. As such, I do hope Nolan never clarifies it.
I agree with what others have said. Cobb not looking at the totem means that he has accepted his reality, whichever one it may be.
The Dream IS real. Your MIND is the scene of the crime.
agreed. Similarly to Memento, Inception's narrative is left fractured just enough for interpretation. There are certain questions which can never be answer, and yet it is so fun to try and find the answer. The films seem like they contain the answer somewhere……and you deep down know that if you just study the right clues that the truth will be revealed. Maybe, maybe not. But that's why those films are so fun (and two of my favorites)
So the answers are all in the promotional taglines huh? I think you're on to something here. That would be the ultimate directorial trick of all time.
I liked the ending. I went with a whole group of guys, and it was 50:50 for who thought he was in a dream and who thought he wasnt. I reckoned he was 'Awake' and that the thingy would crashed as soon as the camera moved
I think the ambiguity may be to suggest that his excessive dipping into shared dreaming has made it impossible for him to tell for certain whether he's dreaming or not, hence his needing to check with the totem throughout the movie, and Mal's suggestion that his dream-life and waking-life have become indistinguishable. Also, even if he has made it home at the end, he will presumably still need to hook into the machine on a regular basis, since he can no longer dream on his own.
I notice, though, that the ambiguity is only for the audience. Sooner or later, even though he walked away from it, he'll have to look at that table again and see what the top's doing. If he is dreaming, I don't see how he'll be able to hide from it.
Get laid… for the love of god.