Analysis of Inception

Inception is a 2010 sci-fi thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb; I have chosen to analyse the opening sequence to this film as I believe it portrays conventions that are typically expected in thriller films. It contains aspects of a psychological thriller as well, like our idea for our production, so I thought it would be useful and rewarding to analyse this film. Dom Cobb is a spy looking for information, and gets it from intercepting a persons subconscious mind as they dream. He misses his two children, and is given the opportunity to see them again as long as he takes the concept into inception, where he implants thoughts into a persons dreams without their knowledge. The scene begins with an establishing shot, showing crashing waves against rocks by a shore, with the diegetic sounds of the waves being quite dramatic, creating a sense of anticipation and suspense, along with the mysterious soundtrack in the background. This is followed with a close up of Cobbs face, which reveals his confusion at his whereabouts, and his exhaustion. The angle is at eye level, which reflects the audiences confusion as to how he got there, washed up on a shore. An eyeline match follows, in which the camera cuts to two children playing by the shore. The sound is quite muffled in comparison to the clear sound of the waves that are still audible, and the colour is quite warm, and yellow-toned - this implies that it is not present as he is, and could be a flashback, or a hallucination. It could also suggest that things as he sees them arent clear; that hes confused, disorientated, and thinking of past events related to him. A medium close up shows a man with a gun standing over Cobb, and reveals his uniform, which along with the gun, implies that hes of the military. This contrasts with Cobbs clothing, which is wet, dirty and torn. This emphasises the soldiers smart attire, and suggests he is of a high status. When taken into consideration alongside how the shot also shows land in the background, behind the soldier, the audience can tell that he is cautious, and opposed to Cobb, who is clearly in a place that he isnt welcome, creating tension. There is a close up of the soldier lifting the back of Cobbs shirt up, where a gun is visible tucked into Cobbs trousers - we then question whether he is actually a protagonist, or an antagonist. This adds an element of surprise, and questioning; we know there will be a struggle to gain information from both sides, which will perhaps turn violent, suggested by both

characters weapons. The soldier speaks in a foreign language - this piece of diegetic sound reveals that Cobb is in a foreign country; the exact location is unknown yet, but the shot is at a low angle, which makes the soldier appear powerful and imposing, which makes us question how dangerous this force is. The soldier is speaking loudly to a second soldier a long distance away, show from an extreme long shot. The second soldier runs towards the right of the frame, and the camera pans to the right, revealing a building on top of a cliff/rock, which looks as if its Japanese (or something similar), where presumably the force is located.