Mal (Marion Cotillard) is a phantom-like character who appears throughout Christopher Nolan's mind-meltingly brilliant sci-fi Inception. As protagonist Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) enters people's dreams, she frequently shows up in the form of a projected memory, usually acting in a malevolent manner which threatens to sabotage whatever Dom's trying to do, in this case his attempt to perform Inception and earn his freedom back. And why does he need freedom? It's explained in a flashback that Dom and Mal spent the equivalent of 50 years in the dangerous dreamscape of "limbo", dream space which the pair filled with their own memories to create a Utopian existence. After finally waking, the two found only a few hours had passed, but Mal was convinced that she was still asleep, to the extent that she climbs out on a ledge and prepares to kill herself. She encourages Dom to do the same, even writing a letter which incriminates him in her death, and with that, she takes a leap, much to Dom's horror. This set in motion the events of the movie, as Cobb fled the US and sought a way to fix his legal issues. Without Mal's death, the rest of Inception's events would simply not be necessary.
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.
