Inception Plot Questions

Posted At : July 17, 2010 8:20 PM
Related Categories: Review

Just watched Inception and found myself with a few questions regarding the ending. These are spoilers people so DON'T READ unless you have seen the movie. Really.

Regarding my opinion on Inception: I love movies that make me think and want to discuss. So from that end I enjoyed it. I didn't like the uselessness of the female architect (she could have rebuilt the place at will right?). A few minor plot holes maybe, but overall fun and I was engaged the whole movie.

Questions:

Ok so at the end we see the top spinning. Is it about to falter? Does it go on for ever? Two contradictory items of evidence for us to ponder.

1) In the real world, or what we are to think is the real world, the top does in fact stop a few times. It shouldn't if they are not in the real world. Or maybe the top means nothing at all. Just a made up construct. Cobb is the only one to actually use it after all.

2) In the end the kids haven't aged at all and they seem to be wearing the exact same clothes. Are they doing the actual same pose as the dream sequences? Very unlikely to be reality.

So, does the fact the top proved reality before (by falling) but the end it doesn't - mean that he was still in limbo, but a new version (having dealt with his two ghosts)?

Did the movie just cut out too soon and the top was going to fall over (it looked like it could)?

Was this just a metaphor for accession to heaven?

My opinion is that in the end it was a dream. Or at least not reality. Metaphor for navigating through purgatory to get to heaven for committing suicide? Or something along those lines? Or was he actually fine until he got to limbo at the end, in which case he rebuilt it after his wife died to what he wanted.

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The kids at the end actually have aged. In fact, they're an entirely different (and older) set of actors. Check the film credits and/or IMDb.

# Posted By switchkosterice | 7/18/10 4:58 AM

Just saw it a 2nd time. Do so, and pay extremely close attention to two details throughout the film:

1. The kids' clothes
2. Cobb's ring finger

If you're eagle-eyed, you'll probably have a new interpretation of the film.

# Posted By Ira | 7/18/10 11:50 PM

@ switchkosterice 5 comments, those kids are from when mal is alive still

# Posted By hohack | 7/19/10 4:41 AM

Hey there Josh,
Great questions all. You seem to think this is more of a Jacob's Ladder equivalent it sounds like? Which isn't a bad thing at all. I also believe it was a dream - but for different reasons. Dug into this on my own blog from a different angle by defining the layers from the bottom to the top and tried to work out how they all work: http://bit.ly/9pyvxS . Love to hear what you think after you read it.

Until next time,
Taylor

# Posted By Taylor | 8/12/10 1:59 PM

This is probably a bit late but its been confirmed by Michael Caine that the top does falter....here's a link:

http://io9.com/5651047/michael-caine-explains-the-...

# Posted By Ratana | 10/21/10 12:56 PM

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