Inception ending explained - General

[video=youtube;XkdDHy9E8aU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkdDHy9E8aU[/video] So now we finally know. [editline]25th October 2013[/editline] Use English captions on YouTube

I thought the ending was pretty concrete as it was.

[sp]I was pretty sure you could hear his top falling over at the very end of the credits.[/sp]

[QUOTE=Novangel;42641179]I thought the ending was pretty concrete as it was.[/QUOTE] How so? You see the spinner wiggle but it did that in the dream world and the real world so there was no way of knowing

[sp]I don't recall the top ever faltering in the dream worlds[/sp]

[QUOTE=slayer20;42641269][sp]I was pretty sure you could hear his top falling over at the very end of the credits.[/sp][/QUOTE] you can't. [editline]26th October 2013[/editline] there's a sharp musical cue but no toppling sound

[sp]well i think it's nice that Cobb gets a happy ending anyway, assuming this is the proper interpretation[/sp]

Wasn't his totem [sp] the wedding ring and this one was his wifes?[/sp] I remember reading that somewhere.

I never really found Inception confusing at all. I could never get why people had trouble understanding the multiple levels of dreams.

I'm still slightly confused here. Knowing the detail about the left hand that the video points out, [sp]it would seem the final scene is not in the dream world and infact is real life. But, and unless the totem is just a goddamn red herring, the totem visually never falls. Though I too swear that as it fades to black you [I]can hear it [/I] fall. Even if that's not the case, it would seem Cobb accepted death and is living a better life.[/sp]

the point of the film was never whether or not it was all a dream, the point was to put that doubt in your mind whether or not it was real [editline]25th October 2013[/editline] aka this whole thing is inconsequential

Yeah, I never found the movie that confusing but it was very well presented and put together. I especially liked the whole foreign wake-up song / main theme connection.

That's actually pretty damn clever

At first, I took it as Cobb went a layer deeper into another layer of dreams, so he could live in the "paradise," since time would be moving incredibly, incredibly slow in that deep of a layer. This fits, too, giving Cobb a sense of acceptance, and faces the truth. Really nice catch with the left hand bit.

But I thought he finally let go of Mal? Therefore the wedding ring would go? I'm pretty sure the wedding ring thing was covered not long after Inception's release anyway. And I didn't think the ending was supposed to be "Oooooh is he dreaming or not? WHAT A CLIFFHANGER" I always figured it was just Cobb not caring whether he's awake or not. He's finally able to see his children without Mal/dreams tormenting him and that's all that matters.

one thing i dont understand is if he can't let go of Mal how come he only wears the ring in dreams.

Christopher Nolan is a genius

He could still be in a dream, he's just now accepted his wife's death so now the ring is gone but he is still dreaming.

I don't want to know if he's in a dream or not.

[QUOTE=Zombinie;42645792]I don't want to know if he's in a dream or not.[/QUOTE] i for one love seeing happy endings call me boring but i just do

the top at the end wobbles so you know the movie ends in reality since the top spins perfectly in a dream. BUT Cobb's children at the end wear the EXACT same clothes as they did in all the times they interrupted his dreams earlier in the movie so you know the end is a dream. Nolan put conflicting evidence in the ending so you can tell if it's real or not. no matter how hard you watch the movie you will never know

[QUOTE=meppers;42646962]the top at the end wobbles so you know the movie ends in reality since the top spins perfectly in a dream. BUT Cobb's children at the end wear the EXACT same clothes as they did in all the times they interrupted his dreams earlier in the movie so you know the end is a dream. Nolan put conflicting evidence in the ending so you can tell if it's real or not. no matter how hard you watch the movie you will never know[/QUOTE] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C2kALwDvko[/media] it barely wobbles tho

[video=youtube;ginQNMiRu2w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ginQNMiRu2w[/video] I prefer this explanation.

[QUOTE=The Combine;42641508]Wasn't his totem [sp] the wedding ring and this one was his wifes?[/sp] I remember reading that somewhere.[/QUOTE] No need for the spoiler tags. You are correct; Mal's totem was the top while Cobb's was the wedding ring (although this is never directly stated so it is possible Cobb doesn't even own a personal totem) Despite writing the rules for the totem, he explicitly breaks them by using a totem that is not by his own design to see if he is dreaming. This is an example of a nonreliable narrator (although Cobb isn't a literal narrator in this case) which is a theme Nolan has used in other movies such as Memento. This basically means that the top is a red herring in the ending. It is there only to create an ambiguous twist that leaves you thinking about the movie long after you've seen it.

[QUOTE=MisterSjeiks;42644523]one thing i dont understand is if he can't let go of Mal how come he only wears the ring in dreams.[/QUOTE] Presumably because he doesn't actually have the physical ring any more, or if he does he doesn't wear it. Wearing it in his dreams is just part of his subconscious, and could be a metaphor for how even though Mal is gone in the physical world, he still can't let her go internally. [editline]edit[/editline] This reminds me of this thing hidden in Memento (don't watch if you haven't seen it). Christopher Nolan's good at this sort of thing! [video=youtube;2MUnDhxAif0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MUnDhxAif0[/video]

That memento one wasn't subtle at all though this whole ring thing in inception is stuff people only find out if they rewatch it like crazy, but that one is easily noticeable

[QUOTE=meppers;42646962]the top at the end wobbles so you know the movie ends in reality since the top spins perfectly in a dream. BUT Cobb's children at the end wear the EXACT same clothes as they did in all the times they interrupted his dreams earlier in the movie so you know the end is a dream. Nolan put conflicting evidence in the ending so you can tell if it's real or not. no matter how hard you watch the movie you will never know[/QUOTE] The director used two sets of children for those scenes (younger and a little bit grown up).

[QUOTE=Zukriuchen;42648006]That memento one wasn't subtle at all though this whole ring thing in inception is stuff people only find out if they rewatch it like crazy, but that one is easily noticeable[/QUOTE] Saw that Memento thing the first time I saw the movie.