So my husband and I saw both Shutter Island (on DVD) and Inception (in the theater) this past weekend. My head was spinning. Poor Leonardo DiCaprio – what a year. Can you imagine preparing for two psychological roles like that so close together? Shutter Island wasn’t bad but I thought the weak sister of the two. Clearly one needs to see Inception several times to take it all in. It is in my mind the best I’ve ever seen of this genre – Matrix, Butterfly Effect etc. In fact maybe it’s in a category all its own. The thing that makes it so amazing is how the visuals are so essential to the plot – you have to watch on many levels at once. This puts the art direction, which is already very complicated, on a whole other intellectual plateau. Don’t go if you’re tired – you need a fresh brain. My film fanatic son has seen it three times and has his opinions down to a science (eg – timing the top spins). The special effects were of course amazing. I don’t want to give too much away but the synchronization of both time and space are mind-boggling. And I loved the choice of music for the “kick” considering the female star – you’ll see what I mean. After having recently completed my first imovie, I have a whole new appreciation for the extremely intricate film editing here, which is truly incredible.
