Inception

Inception Literary Elements

Director

Christopher Nolan

Leading Actors/Actresses

Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy

Genre

Action/Science Fiction

Language

English

Awards

4 Academy Awards: Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects

Date of Release

July 2010

Producer

Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas

Setting and Context

Kyoto, Mombasa, Paris, in the future

Narrator and Point of View

Dom Cobb

Tone and Mood

Action-packed, suspenseful, mind-bending, surreal

Protagonist and Antagonist

Protagonist: Dom Cobb; Antagonist: Mal Cobb

Major Conflict

The film's major conflict is between Saito and Fischer's rival empires.

Climax

The climax occurs when Cobb successfully performs inception and resolves his feelings of guilt over his wife's death.

Foreshadowing

Cobb's final confrontation with Saito in limbo is foreshadowed in the opening sequence.

Understatement

Eames casually tells Arthur to "dream a little bigger," before pulling out a grenade launcher.

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

The practical effect of the zero-gravity "revolving hallway."

Allusions

The Greek myth of Ariadne, Theseus, and the Minotaur.

Paradox

The Penrose staircase is an architectural paradox.

Parallelism

The film begins and ends with a confrontation in Saito's estate.