10 Movie Secrets They'll Never Tell You

6. Is Cobb Dreaming? - Inception

Total Recall
Warner Bros.

Few films have ended in more agonisingly ambiguous fashion than Christopher Nolan's sci-fi masterpiece Inception, which concludes with Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) seemingly being granted passage back to the United States and reunited with his children.

Except, the closing shot of a spinning top not quite toppling over leaves audiences to ponder whether we're witnessing objective reality or one of Cobb's dreams.

Interviewers hassle Nolan for a concrete answer every single time he joins the press circuit to promote a new film, yet he's remained impressively tight-lipped on the matter.

Though Inception star Michael Caine claims that Nolan told him any scene featuring his character - which would include the ending - are reality, Nolan hasn't ever revealed the truth himself.

Rather, Nolan has frequently repeated one simple explanation:

"I think it was [producer and wife Emma Thomas] who sort of pointed out the correct answer, really... The point of the shot is that [DiCaprio's] character doesn't care at that point."

Basically, Cobb has accepted whatever reality he has been presented with, whether "real" in a traditional sense or part of a dream. And given that Nolan has held this line for well over a decade, it's likely all we're ever going to get from him.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.