Perhaps the most discussed final shot of contemporary cinema, and for good reason, with numerous theories circulating across the internet. But what's all the hubbub about, you might ask? For those of you that have been asleep for the past few years I'll explain a little. After much hardship and emotional distress Leonard DiCaprio's character "Cobb" finally manages to return to his children that he has been separated from for years... or has he? In order to find out whether he is still dreaming he removes his "totem", a small spinning top, and spins it on a table. If it topples over he will know for sure that he is finally home. If it rotates endlessly he will know that he is still dreaming. For a while he stares at it, waiting to see if his quest is finally over. But, distracted by the voices of his children, Cobb rushes towards them rather than waiting to find out the truth, and whether they are even real or just projections within his own mind. We are then presented with the top spinning in close-up. The question on our collective lips: does it topple? Well, we never find out. The screen cuts to black before any definitive answer. Yes, it does wobble slightly just beforehand, but this is not evidence that it falls over in-and-of itself. No matter how many times you watch Nolan's intelligent blockbuster this shot still forces you to hold your breath in anticipation, desperately looking (or googling) for any subtle clue that might give you some sort of answer. Has Cobb finally made it home, or is he still in the dream world? Ultimately this is unimportant, with the true power of the shot being the fact that he no longer cares if it topples or not. Cobb finally accepts the reality that he wants to believe, whether that be a true reality or a perceived one, and as such we should interpret the shot in the way that we see most fitting ourselves.
