ESSAY WINNER

Inception was a movie filled with so man factors and characteristics of mise-en-scene and cinematography. As we explicitly see the plot unfold before us, I notice in various different ways how these three elements work with one another and are incorporated into the scenes.

In this movie, the director chose to use a variety of cinematography features that worked well with mise-en-scene and the film’s overall plot. In one scene, Cobb is in a room by himself and the camera zooms in and focuses on his face. This is a close-up where we see part of his neck and his face dominates the screen. Through the view, we are able to see his facial expression as he stares down at his totem, in which the camera follows his eyes directly down to the spinning object. We later find out in the movie that his totem carries a significant importance: a proof of reality. Next, in a scene where Cobb in currently in a dream, he is chased by the men in the subconscious world. In this specific scene, we observe the “wild goose chase” through a crane shot. The camera follows Cobb in the midst of air and we, the audience, have a bird’s eye view of the totem and the setting of the area. The scene’s mise-en-scene shows us the narrow and small streets of the setting.

Also, the use of “grand illusion” comes into play. On screen, we explicitly see before our eyes that Cobb is still currently in the dream world, because the setting and the costume of the characters are very different and also because before, we were able to view scenes of reality where Cobb is asleep on a chair. However, the grand illusion is that we are aware that the people in reality are frantically trying to awaken Cobb, but he, on the other hand, is not aware of it. As the audience, we knew more than the character, this creating a feeling of suspense and excitement of what will happen next. Then later on in the film, when Cobb is in his subconscious world with Ariadne, the director makes use of a lot of extreme long shots. The purpose of these shots allows us to visually see the dramatic changes on the setting of the screen. To Ariadne as well as the audience, we experience and realize from the scene, that the architect has a lot of power in their ability to create the dream world. For example, a great example of an extreme long shot is the image of the city literally folding into a cube before our very eyes. Such incorporations of mise-en-scene and cinematography, enhances the power of the plot and how we experience it.

Another example of how the three elements work with one another is the moment when the camera movement becomes shaky, as if it were a hand-held. This aspect of cinematography works well with the plot because it intensifies the surrounding of the actor. While in Cobb’s subconscious, the camera is very abrupt and we view quick shots of the people in his subconscious with odd stares ay Ariadne, the supposed “enemy”. Together these attributes cause us to infer that the trouble is coming and it does, when we view the scene in which Ariadne is attacked by Cobb’s subconscious.

Through out the whole film,, there were many sequences when the screen shots are put into slow motion. One example of a long take in the movie was the moment as the van slowly fell from the bridge into the river. In reality, the fall of the van would be quicker, however, in this scene; it falls at a very slow rate, for the purpose of the audience suspense and to illustrate the plot. From the character’s acting and script, we learn that time in the subconscious world works differently than time in reality, and therefore, the long takes exaggerate the rate at which the van falls to make the plot continue and help us understand the story. Throughout the whole film, different factors of the three elements are used in different ways that intensify our interests making Inception a great movie.

-- Kathy T.