Christopher Nolan, who is currently on a roll for his historical release of ‘Oppenheimer’ yesterday, finally opened up about being hounded with questions about his other film ‘Inception’.
‘Inception’, released in 2010, is one of Nolan’s most acclaimed films of all time. Seems like the film has taken a very special place in audiences’ minds as they are still curious about the ending even after thirteen years. The story of ‘Inception’ is about a group of criminals, who steal information by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets. The main character Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) gets an offer to have his criminal history erased as payment for the implantation of another person’s idea into a target’s subconscious.
The climax of the film is what makes it more thrilling when Cobb returns home and the camera cuts to the spinning totem top as it begins to wobble. So if the top is spinning with an indefinite time, that means Cobb is still dreaming and if it falls, then he is awake in the real world.
As the end is quite complex, fans have made several speculations over the decade whether Cobb is awake or still dreaming. These speculations are not only just limited to the internet, but also reached out to Nolan.
Hence, recently in an interview on the ‘Happy Sad Confused’ podcast, an anxious Nolan said that such debates are missing the ending’s real takeaway. Cobb doesn’t care.
Nolan said, “When the topic of ‘Inception’s ending came up, I think it was Emma Thomas (the producer and Nolan’s wife) who pointed out the correct answer, which is Leo’s character, the point of the shot is the character doesn’t care at that point. It’s not a question I can comfortably answer.”
“There is a nihilistic view of that ending, right? But also, he’s moved on and is with his kids. The ambiguity is not an emotional ambiguity. It’s an intellectual one for the audience”, Christopher also explained this to Wired earlier this month.
According to Nolan, whether Cobb’s top keeps spinning or not, at least he could come back home to his children and that’s where emotional journey completes. Thus Cobb doesn’t care if his top is still spinning or not.
