I just watched Inception, Christopher Nolan's new flick. And I tell you, especially judging how off-the-wall nutso the whole premise really was, it was weird to actually feel as if I knew what was going on in a movie. It feels strange to realize that I haven't actually fully grasped any of the movies I've seen recently, short of the ones with perfectly linear plots. Even movies as feel-good and enjoyable as The Karate Kid I specifically remember moments where I'd think, "Wait one ear-lobe itching second, that ain't so! It can't be." And I'd smile and sigh, and a piece of my soul would firgive them and die, and I'd wait for the next fight sequence. There were moments like these for actions of the hero, or for glowerings of the villain. There were moments like this that demanded the suspicion of product endorsement, and others that made me suppose that no special-effects person actually has a soul. This sensation of my unbelief collapsing arose after over-simplicities in plotting, or under-simpliciies in dialogue, over vague uses of drama, and over headachey violin warbling.
"That ain't so!" I thought so much. "It can't be. There is no demand for it in the presentation of this story. It is getting in the way." Every movie, even the best of them, had me thinking these things at least a few times.
Inception left me with one un-answered question. And I can put it right here, so I will, because I'm pretty sure it doesn't ruin the movie at all: Wherefore military tech shareage, then, eh? And aside from that one unanswered question, I was, over and again, while watching this movie just smiling, and smiling, and smiling, because my, "hmm, why that particular action, cos?" thoughts which I had directed at the characters continued over and over again to be answered. I was genuinely curious, and always my curiosity was genuinely fulfilled.
At the beginning of the movie, I did have to make a conscious decision to go along with some...let us say, wild plot devices. And that makes it sound as if I went out of my way to be gullible. It wasn't that. The conscious decision that I made at the beginning was to trust these movie makers to guide me sufficiently through their wild world so that I had a good ride, and didn't get lost. Being a cynic, but a generous one, I planned to stop trusting them on the second or third abuse of my trust.
They never abused my trust. Everything there, on that screen, from those speakers, supported that story.
Inception told itself well. Highest praise I can give it.
And the fight scenes rocked. Which I really wasn't expecting.
1 comment:
The secret, of course, is that one must learn the art of willing suspension of disbelief. And then one must willingly not disbelieve. Anything can work out if you try.
Next time you watch something, don't think about the movie as though you're just watching a movie. When your suspension of disbelief starts to break, just pretend you're a god watching the world another god put together, and mentally criticize how poorly he designed his people or how much better the physics work in YOUR world.
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