New Photos From 'Inception,' But Not Many Details

"Complex and ambiguous are the perfect way to describe the story," said Leonardo DiCaprio of this summer's Inception, the biggest enigma of the blockbuster season. We're still in the dark about what it is, what its aims are, and what characters the members of Christopher Nolan's all-star cast are playing. All we know, really, is what we don't know. The Los Angeles Times has a new interview with Nolan (which is about the paper's fifth in the past year), and a couple new photos are featured in the article as well. You can click on any of them to see a larger version; a couple are part of the film, and two others feature Nolan on the set. Backing up what the Times says, that this is Hollywood's first existential heist movie, DiCaprio recognizes that's not an easy thing to sell, or even execute. "It's going to be a challenge to ultimately pull it off. But that is what Chris Nolan specializes in," Leo says. "He has been able to convey really complex narratives that work on a multitude of different layers...and make it entertaining and engaging throughout." "I originally wrote it as a heist movie, and heist movies traditionally are very deliberately superficial in emotional terms," Nolan tells the paper. "They're frivolous and glamorous, and there's a sort of gloss and fun to it. I originally tried to write it that way, but when I came back to it I realized that - to me - that didn't work for a film that relies so heavily on the idea of the interior state, the idea of dream and memory." He adds, "I realized I needed to raise the emotional stakes. What we found in working on Batman is that it's the emotionalism that best connects the audience with the material. The character issues, those are the things that pull the audience through it and amplify the experience no matter how strange things get." While this is Nolan's first venture into science fiction, there's still a lot of film noir going on, by his own admission. He's very good at that, maybe the best noir filmmaker going. Memento is a more classic example, but both Batman movies share some of those elements, as does Insomnia. So I'm happy that he's confirming that it's the launching pad for this story, too. "I always find myself gravitating to the analogy of a maze," Nolan says of developing the mysterious Inception. "Think of film noir and if you picture the story as a maze, you don't want to be hanging above the maze watching the characters make the wrong choices because it's frustrating." "You actually want to be in the maze with them, making the turns at their side, that keeps it more exciting...I quite like to be in that maze."

Comments

[knives]

Hollywood's 'first' existential heist film? I'm sure the 40s, and if you count it as Hollywood The Killing, are weeping.

[Jay]

I have complete faith in Nolan; and that this will be an incredible film.

[Nelson]

reminds me of The Matrix, can't wait

[Glass]

Are you illiterate? Not many details? There's a ton of details in that piece.