NOTE: This post is about the final shot of the movie, Inception. While we won’t spoil it with any specific details, if you haven’t seen the movie, you may want to skip this post.
There’s been a lot of talk about the final shot of Inception, and what it means. You won’t see any of that coming from me. That’s because I refuse to analyze the meaning of Inception’s ending. Personally, I don’t think it means anything at all. My theory is that the final shot was put there specifically to get people talking, but I don’t believe the movie has enough information to support any kind of interpretation.
If you compare the twist ending of Inception to the twist ending of writer/director Christopher Nolan’s other movie, The Prestige, you’ll see what I mean. The final shot of The Prestige actually answers questions that run throughout the movie. The final shot of Inception does the exact opposite. It raises questions, instead. Without that final shot, Inception has closure. I honestly don’t believe that Nolan had a specific meaning in mind for it. I think he made it and said, “Now this will really mess with people’s heads.” And he’s refused to answer any explanation after the movie’s been released. That’s why I decided a long time ago to clip out the last seconds in my mind, and just enjoy the movie for what it is. It’s mind-bending enough.
Do you think the ending of Inception has a meaning or is it just a practical joke on the viewer by Nolan?
This post is “I is for Inception, part of the “A-Z Blogging Challenge.” We’ll be posting something on our blog every day in April except for Sundays. The challenge is hosted by Arlee Bird , Jeffrey Beesler, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Jen Daiker, Candace Ganger, Karen J Gowen, Talli Roland and Stephen Tremp. Visit them today and every day for the next month!
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="42146 ">1 Comment
I like the the way the film ends on this question even though it's neither a twist nor an original ending – eXistenz ends on the same note but Inception does it with so much more style.
However Nolan has answered this in a way which does make a lot of sense to me, the point is not whether the top falls but that Cobb has turned away from it – this is the reality he wants and he no longer cares whether it's a dream or not. In terms of whether it's actually a dream or not (if you care) you can google for an interview with the film's costume designer, whose comments Nolan has confirmed.