Does the spinning top topple? It's the question on every viewer's lips after seeing Christopher Nolan's Inception and while the actuality of Leonardo DiCaprio's reality is still be debated five years on from release, the true solution to the ending - it doesn't matter as Cobb has chosen this level as his own "real world" - serves as a reminder that there's more to the film than a couple of good ideas. Nolan is often labelled a "cold" director, but behind the starkly realistic dreamscapes and Bond-meets-sci-fi action sequences there's an overwhelmingly emotional through-line to Inception, dominating the character arc of Leonardo DiCaprio's Dom Cobb, a man reeling from the loss of his wife and beginning to lose grip on reality. In a film where so much of the time is spent in dreams, the actual prevalence of this can get lost, but that's the film's brilliance; it explores complex ideas while at the same time delivering a blockbuster equal in technical smarts and entertainment. A dream (ha!) project for Nolan, made from a budget gifted to him by Warner Bros. following the success of The Dark Knight, his passion comes across in all elements of the picture, particularly it's expertly tempered script. It's complex in many ways, but the film is still more than followable upon first watch, every element of its literally labyrinthine second half perfectly set-up in its block-building first. Anybody who called it difficult to understand was just not paying attention. Inception remains Nolan's best work and the most exhilarating cinematic experience of the 2010s. Whether it'll remain in the top spot come 2020 remains to be seen, but if it is toppled, then someone will have made something truly incredible. What's you list of the best films of the decade so far? What did we miss and what shouldn't have been included? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
