Inception

I watched this movie nearly two weeks ago. Normally I don't take so long to blog about a movie, but then normally I don't come out of one with so many questions.

I didn't realize I had so many questions right at first. I was actually surprised (judging by what I'd previously heard) that the movie wasn't especially hard to follow, and it all seemed to make sense to me. I would have blogged about it the night I watched it except that we'd already stayed up way too late and I was incredibly tired. But in the days since then, I found I wanted to do a bunch of googling before I wrote this post.

Oh, by the way, did I mention I thought this movie was awesome? It's right up there with The Matrix (first one only!!) in its mindblowing combination of WTFery and action/effects. It's a great story in a great package. I would totally watch it again, and that's saying a lot coming from someone with a neverending list of movies to watch.

In fact, judging by my questions, I need to watch this movie again. Most of them, I think, were answered during the movie. I asked Hud what he thought on each of these and he couldn't answer a single one. I don't think he was paying attention. I, on the other hand, was at the edge of my seat and completely focused throughout the entire movie, which is really unusual for me. But I still had the following questions:

What was the secret Mal had hidden away? I forgot . . . was it that she believed their world (in limbo) was real? What was the little thing she locked in her safe to symbolize this?

I didn't understand why Cobb's father(-in-law?) was first in Paris, then the US. Does he live in Paris and just happened to be visiting his grandkids when Cobb finally got back home?

How long was Cobb gone--why did it look like his kids hadn't aged? I actually think I know the answer to this one. Apparently they used two different sets of kids during filming--one pair older, one younger--so they were supposed to have looked like they aged. I just didn't notice it.

How did Cobb and Mal get lost in limbo for so long? Looking back (and if my answer to my first question is right) it must be because for a long time she didn't realize it wasn't real.

Why didn't Cobb want to see his kids' faces in limbo? He deliberately turned away so that he wouldn't.

Why did the van hitting the water not wake them up in the plane? (I think I know the answer to this one too--it was because of the sedation.)

Then, of course, there's the big question: Do YOU think the top toppled? I was actually expecting that ending, but I was not expecting the ambiguity. I thought the movie would end with a smoothly spinning top that never dropped. Anyway, I say it wobbled, so it was going to fall.

As for my poor friend who called this movie bizarre and said she was disappointed in it, I pity her. If such a movie can be a letdown, her life must be rife with dissatisfaction. That must suck.