Does Inception have the characteristics of a thriller film?
Does the narrative centre around a crime e.g. a theft or a murder? With Inception we learnt that the male character called Cobb’s job title is an extractor. With his work he clearly says to Ariadne when teaching her to become an architect that what he does by going into people’s minds and looking at information is not legal. Through this way we can see that Inception revolves around the theft of ideas and thoughts.
Does the protagonist become fallible and has an 'Achilles heel' that is exploited by the antagonist? The title of the thriller may relate to this weakness eg Vertigo and Insomnia. When searching through Cobb’s targets minds with Cobb being the protagonist this is where he becomes his most vulnerable as within dreams anything can happen and this is where he comes into contact with his dead wife Mal. Mal wants to get revenge on Cobb as she wants him to stay in the dream with her forever which usually turns out into a fight between these two characters.
Is the protagonist seen to be 'in peril' in one or more scenes before the resolution? Does the antagonist ensnare the protagonist in an increasingly complex web, until the protagonist feels isolated and helpless? Throughout most scenes when Cobb is inside another’s mind he usually is seen in peril when Mal comes in contact with him. With her seeking revenge and trying to make him stay within the dream world this usually means that she would put Cobb in pain for him to surrender and make the decision not to leave.
Does the narrative present ordinary situations in which extraordinary things happen? Throughout Inception during the reality scenes nothing out of the ordinary usually happens but as soon as the characters enter a dream state they can make extraordinary things happen. This was done in the first dream with Cobb and Ariadne during the scene where they are at a cafe in France with it seeming normal then everything around them started to explode. This is how something ordinary becomes extraordinary.
Do the micro elements combine in a build up of suspense? Throughout most scenes there is a combination of sounds, camera work, mise en scene. An example of the combination of camera work and mise en scene is through the facial expressions of the characters to show that something maybe is not quite right and the camera work producing a close up shot helps convey suspense combined with this is mise en scene producing the body language to show that a character may be uncomfortable and this uncomfort can further build the suspense which the audience can only guess at what happens.
Are there themes of identity? Mistaken identity, doubling/doppelgangers, amnesia? Throughout some scenes you can tell by the change in character that there is a change of identity. The change of identity is very common within Mal’s character as outside of dreams she was a kind woman and very caring but once within the dream world she becomes a very revenge driven character trying to make Cobb stay within the dreams with her. There are no other themes of identity which include doppelgangers or amnesia within the film Inception.
Are the themes of seeing, reflection and mirroring, manipulation of perspectives, visual McGuffins, and optical illusions common? Throughout Inception they had to teach the architect (Ariadne) that throughout her creations there had to be some form of paradox to make it possible to escape from any created object quickly. One optical illusion and also includes manipulation of perspective is where Arthur is teaching Ariadne about this escape technique. Arthur creates a never ending staircase which enables them to escape quickly from any situation.
Are the audience of a thriller placed in an ambiguous position of voyeur? Voyeurism can also be a theme and the objectification of female characters is common especially in earlier thrillers. Through watching this film I could not see any of these characteristics present in any of the characters. This may be because of the rating the film has been given which is a 12A and scenes of voyeurism would not be suitable for an audience of this age group.
Are there a series of/ one important enigma(s) in the opening sequence of the film? Is this further complicated during the first part of the film and only resolved at the very end? There are many enigmas in this film but the main one is when Cobb is unable to see his children’s faces. At the beginning he is within a dream where he is trying to find out some information about a Japanese man and hoping that this is his last work assignment to be completed so he can go home to see his children. When having a flash back about leaving the home to go to work you see his children with their heads turned and then walked away. This whole idea is based around that Cobb wants to finish his work so he can go home to see his children. This eventually happens at the end of the film but you see Cobb spin his small spinning top and if this was to fall over this meant he was in reality but the topple seems to be very steady which indicates that he may still be in a dream so this is unsure that Cobb has actually returned to see his children.
Does the narrative centre around a crime e.g. a theft or a murder? With Inception we learnt that the male character called Cobb’s job title is an extractor. With his work he clearly says to Ariadne when teaching her to become an architect that what he does by going into people’s minds and looking at information is not legal. Through this way we can see that Inception revolves around the theft of ideas and thoughts.
Does the protagonist become fallible and has an 'Achilles heel' that is exploited by the antagonist? The title of the thriller may relate to this weakness eg Vertigo and Insomnia. When searching through Cobb’s targets minds with Cobb being the protagonist this is where he becomes his most vulnerable as within dreams anything can happen and this is where he comes into contact with his dead wife Mal. Mal wants to get revenge on Cobb as she wants him to stay in the dream with her forever which usually turns out into a fight between these two characters.
Is the protagonist seen to be 'in peril' in one or more scenes before the resolution? Does the antagonist ensnare the protagonist in an increasingly complex web, until the protagonist feels isolated and helpless? Throughout most scenes when Cobb is inside another’s mind he usually is seen in peril when Mal comes in contact with him. With her seeking revenge and trying to make him stay within the dream world this usually means that she would put Cobb in pain for him to surrender and make the decision not to leave.
Does the narrative present ordinary situations in which extraordinary things happen? Throughout Inception during the reality scenes nothing out of the ordinary usually happens but as soon as the characters enter a dream state they can make extraordinary things happen. This was done in the first dream with Cobb and Ariadne during the scene where they are at a cafe in France with it seeming normal then everything around them started to explode. This is how something ordinary becomes extraordinary.
Do the micro elements combine in a build up of suspense? Throughout most scenes there is a combination of sounds, camera work, mise en scene. An example of the combination of camera work and mise en scene is through the facial expressions of the characters to show that something maybe is not quite right and the camera work producing a close up shot helps convey suspense combined with this is mise en scene producing the body language to show that a character may be uncomfortable and this uncomfort can further build the suspense which the audience can only guess at what happens.
Are there themes of identity? Mistaken identity, doubling/doppelgangers, amnesia? Throughout some scenes you can tell by the change in character that there is a change of identity. The change of identity is very common within Mal’s character as outside of dreams she was a kind woman and very caring but once within the dream world she becomes a very revenge driven character trying to make Cobb stay within the dreams with her. There are no other themes of identity which include doppelgangers or amnesia within the film Inception.
Are the themes of seeing, reflection and mirroring, manipulation of perspectives, visual McGuffins, and optical illusions common? Throughout Inception they had to teach the architect (Ariadne) that throughout her creations there had to be some form of paradox to make it possible to escape from any created object quickly. One optical illusion and also includes manipulation of perspective is where Arthur is teaching Ariadne about this escape technique. Arthur creates a never ending staircase which enables them to escape quickly from any situation.
Are the audience of a thriller placed in an ambiguous position of voyeur? Voyeurism can also be a theme and the objectification of female characters is common especially in earlier thrillers. Through watching this film I could not see any of these characteristics present in any of the characters. This may be because of the rating the film has been given which is a 12A and scenes of voyeurism would not be suitable for an audience of this age group.
Are there a series of/ one important enigma(s) in the opening sequence of the film? Is this further complicated during the first part of the film and only resolved at the very end? There are many enigmas in this film but the main one is when Cobb is unable to see his children’s faces. At the beginning he is within a dream where he is trying to find out some information about a Japanese man and hoping that this is his last work assignment to be completed so he can go home to see his children. When having a flash back about leaving the home to go to work you see his children with their heads turned and then walked away. This whole idea is based around that Cobb wants to finish his work so he can go home to see his children. This eventually happens at the end of the film but you see Cobb spin his small spinning top and if this was to fall over this meant he was in reality but the topple seems to be very steady which indicates that he may still be in a dream so this is unsure that Cobb has actually returned to see his children.
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