Have you ever been so moved by the impact of the power of cinematic stories that you ended up crying and thinking about the intricate details of a plot long after the film ends? Leonardo DiCaprio’s scene from Inception, the masterpiece by Christopher Nolan, does exactly that, encapsulating an emotional resonance that can still leave many of us affected.
A quick recall: After spending so many years in exile overseas, veteran dream thief Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) finally came clean of murder charges. To make sure he is not still dreaming, Cobb chose to give his totem one last spin as he entered his house.
But as soon as our hero saw the expressions on his children’s faces, he forgot everything and rushed to embrace them. The camera then momentarily lingered on the spinning top, bringing us back to reality. But Nolan left things a bit ambiguous, ending the scene in black before providing the audience with a definitive answer.
Christopher Nolan’s Perspective on the Inception Ending: Dream or Reality
It’s been over a decade since Christopher Nolan’s Inception hit theaters and audiences are still debating the ending. The concluding moments of this 2010 action thriller—where Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Cobb, might or might not have returned to the real world—continue to spark curiosity and debate among aficionados and new viewers alike.
Did Cobb ever make it back to reality or is he forever stuck in a dream world? While the spinning totem top may leave us with more questions than answers, this final scene in the film can still make some of us cry and has a deeper meaning than we may realize.
Nevertheless, Nolan said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that these conversations overlook the real takeaway from the movie’s conclusion—that is, Cobb does not care a bit:
I went through a phase where I was asked that a lot. I think it was [producer] Emma Thomas who pointed out the correct answer, which is Leo’s character…the point of the shot is the character doesn’t care at that point. It’s not a question I comfortably answer.
In a poignant moment towards the end of the film, Cobb is back home to his children after completing his mission. As he stepped into the house, he took a second to think and decided to give his totem one last spin. But as he saw his kids’ faces sparkle with joy, he forgot all about the top and ran to embrace them.
Cobb’s Story: Christopher Nolan’s Emotional Magnum Opus
The concluding scene, where Leonardo DiCaprio’s Cobb prioritized his children over the uncertainty of reality, spoke volumes about the character’s emotional journey. It showed that, ultimately, what truly mattered to him was being with his loved ones and finding redemption for his past mistakes.
As Christopher Nolan himself has pointed out (via Wired), the spinning top was not the focus of the ending. The emotional resolution of Cobb’s story is the only thing important. The “ambiguity” of the ending is not meant to leave us questioning whether Cobb is dreaming or awake, but rather to highlight the character’s growth and newfound sense of fulfillment. In his words:
There is a nihilistic view of that ending, right? But also, he’s moved on and is with his kids. The ambiguity is not an emotional ambiguity. It’s an intellectual one for the audience.
Over the years, more members of the Inception cast have commented on the discussion. Michael Caine once admitted in a chat with Time:
When I got the script of ‘Inception,’ I was a bit puzzled by it. And I said to [Nolan], ‘I don’t understand where the dream is.’ I said, ‘When is it the dream and when is it reality?’ He said, ‘Well, when you’re in the scene, it’s reality.’ So get that — if I’m in it, it’s reality. If I’m not in it, it’s a dream.
For Nolan, the emotional climax was the center of the narrative, where we saw Cobb returning to his family as “he’s moved on and is with his kids”. For this reason, the movie is regarded as one of the best of 2010 and went on to win four Oscars.
It also made over $837 million in total revenue, making it the fourth-highest-grossing movie of the year (The Numbers). Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and Tom Berenger are among the ensemble cast members.
Inception is streaming on Max.
