Inception Ending Explained
Jul 19, 2010 by Kofi OutlawConfused about the ending of ‘Inception’? Here’s an explanation of what really happened in the film.
The Players
The Extractor – The extractor is a master con man, a person who knows how to manipulate a dreaming mark into revealing their deepest mental secrets. At heart, an extractor is a classic con man – he creates a false set of circumstances that manipulate the mark into revealing his secrets. Cobb (Leo DiCaprio) uses the same type of con man repertoire as George Clooney in Oceans 11 – only Cobb knows how to literally do his work on a subconscious level. Fancy premise aside though, the extractor (as I said) is basically your classic con man.
The Architect – The architect is the designer of the dream constructs into which an extractor brings a “mark.” Think of an architect as a video game designer, except in this case they create the “levels” within a dream, complete with all the aesthetic and tactile details. The mark (also known as “the subject”) is brought into that dream construct and fills it with details from their own subconscious and memories, which convince the mark that the dream the architect built is real – or at the very least, is the mark’s own dream.
The architect can manipulate real world architecture and physics in order to create paradoxes like an endless staircase, which makes the dream world function as a sort of maze. The dream is constructed as a maze so that A) The mark doesn’t reach the edge of the maze, realizing that they are in an imaginary place. B) So the mark runs the maze, leading the extractor toward “the cheese” – i.e., mental secrets the mark is protecting.
The Dreamer – The architect and the dreamer are not always the same person. The architect designs the dream world/maze and can then teach that maze to a separate dreamer. The dreamer is the person whose mind actually houses the dream and it is the dreamer’s mind that the subject/mark is ultimately brought into in order to to be conned by the extractor. The dreamer allows the mark to fill their mind with the mark’s subconscious, and unless the dreamer maintains the stability of the dream, the mark’s subconscious will realize it’s been invaded by foreign mind(s) and will try to locate and eliminate the dreamer to free itself.
When you start getting into the whole dream within a dream aspect of the movie, identifying the dreamer can be tricky – this is especially true when Cobb and his team start running their con on Fischer using three separate levels of dreaming. Once the tri-level dream sequence starts, one good way to keep track of the dreamers is by noticing which team member stays awake and doesn’t follow the team down to the next level of dreaming – a dreamer can’t enter a lower dream state, otherwise their level of the dream would end.
Here’s a rundown of who is actually dreaming each level of the Fischer con:
- The rainy city – Yusuf the chemist (Dileep Rao) is dreaming this level. Yusuf is drinking a lot of champagne in the “real world” on the plane, so when he goes to sleep he has to pee (hence the rainfall). Since Yusuf is the dreamer of level 1, he has to stay in that level of the dream, hence why he has to drive the van.
- The hotel – Arthur (Joseph Gordon Levitt) dreams the hotel, which is why he has to stay awake when the rest of the team goes down to the snow level. When the van Yusuf is driving goes off the bridge and is flying through the air, Aurthur’s “body” is suspended in air, which is why gravity in the hotel level of the dream goes haywire – as the dreamer’s body is shifted and moved, it effects the physics of the dream he’s dreaming, since the mind (and inner-ear) is registering the change in gravity.
- The snow fortress – Eames the “forger” (Tom hardy) is dreaming this level of the dream. A question has been raised about why the gravity in the snow world doesn’t go haywire when Eames’ body starts floating in the zer0-gravity hotel. Well, you could say that Eames’ body isn’t being shook up or shifted in any way his mind (or inner-ear) would actively register or that being so deep in a dream state cushioned Eames from the effect of gravity. Or, you could say that it’s a glaring plot hole. Truthfully, it’s questionable.
- Limbo – Limbo is actually unconstructed dream space – a place of raw (and random) subconscious impulse. Ariadne drops a line early on about the fact that the extractor team can bring elements of their own subconscious into the dream levels if they’re not careful, and since Cobb has spent time in Limbo and has a raging subconscious, the Limbo space they enter includes his memory of the city he and Mal built for themselves.
If you’re more of a visual person, Cinema Blend has put together a handy graphic detailing the different levels featured in Inception:
The Mark – The mark (Cillain Murphy) is the person who the extractor and his team are trying to con. The mark is brought into the mind of the dreamer, and since the mark is unaware that he/she is dreaming, they perceive the dreamer’s world as real while simultaneously making it feel real to themselves by filling it with details and secrets from their own subconscious. The extractor uses those details and various mental prompts to steer the mark through the dream world maze, towards the mental secrets the extractor wants to steal.
As stated, the mark thinks he is still awake, perceives the dream world as real and reinforces that notion by “projecting” his conscious view of the world onto the dream – this is why projection people populate the dream cities, etc. Because of the extractor’s manipulations, the mark goes along with the faux reality of dream, ultimately reaching the point where they either realize it’s a dream, or open their mind and reveal their secrets.
Projections – Dreams feel real to us when we’re dreaming and part of the reason for that is our mind’s ability to construct a faux real-world setting for us to interact with in dreams. Often, that dream is something like a city or any populated area which has other people walking around it. in Inception, those people that the unknowing mark populates the dream world with are known as “projections.”
As is explained in the film, projections are not part of the mark’s mind – they are manifestations of the mark’s vision of reality. If a mark has been trained to defend themselves against extractors, they have a part of their subconscious which is always on guard against mind-crime in the form of militarized security which attack mind invaders. In Cobb’s case, Mal (“the shade”) is a projection based on his need to remember his dead wife. Mal wanted Cobb back in limbo – his own subconscious trying to pull him back to a place where he could “be with her.”
The Forger – As in “forgery,” Eames (Tom Hardy) is a master of imitating people’s handwriting, mannerisms – and in the dream world, even their very appearance. This is key to Cobb’s plan: on dream level 1 (the rainy city) Eames impersonates Peter Browning (Tom Berenger), Robert Fischer’s closest advisor.
Using Browning’s image, Eames subtly suggests things to Fischer that fools Fischer into creating his own subconscious version of Browning (seen in dream level 2, the hotel). The version of Browning Fischer conjures in his subconscious motivates him to run deeper into Cobb’s maze (dream level 3, the snow fortress) in order to find “the cheese” – i.e., the inception of the idea Saito wanted Cobb to plant. Basically, the Forger fools Fischer into using his own subconscious projections against himself.
Mal (and her shadow) – Mal is the character who acts as a vessel for all the more complex notions and questions about reality the film raises. Mal not only thought but felt that the world she and Cobb had built in limbo was real – it fed her emotionally and made her happy. When Cobb planted the idea that “Your world is not real” in her mind, he only meant for it to wake her from limbo. Instead, what he actually did by allowing that idea to take root in her mind was to destroy that sense of fulfillment and connection she once had – and once it was destroyed, it couldn’t be repaired.
Even with her husband and children all back together, Mal couldn’t access that emotional reality that comes with the bond of love and connection to our love ones. Because of inception, Mal couldn’t value love or connection the same way because a fake reality only offered fake connections and emotions – only she and Cobb and their love was real to her anymore. She needed to keep trying to reach some higher state where the nagging doubt would be cured and she could be happy again. And so, thinking Cobb lost in a faux reality, she arranged the hotel suicide and murder implication in order to force Cobb to follow her. The idea Cobb implanted in her led her to her death (seemingly), and the guilt of that act led Cobb to create a shadow of her in his subconscious.
At the climax of the film, Mal throws deep questions at Cobb (and the audience) asking if having faceless corporations chase somebody around isn’t yet another dream state. She questions the very nature of reality for all of us and certainly whether or not the faux reality of film isn’t its own sort of dream state – a place where fantastic things occur – an imagined place we as movie goers share and perceive differently and fill with our own subconscious views and interpretations. Pretty deep meta-thinking stuff.
Well, as an answer Mr. Nolan, I can say: only when a movie like Inception comes around to light that sort of spark in our minds. Seeing Clash of the Titans was nearly a thought-provoking, fun or worthwhile. 
STILL confused about the characters, who’s dreaming when and what the levels of the dream (and how to kick out of them) are all about? Check out a second handy infographic, made by Deviant Art user “Dehahs”.
Continue to an explanation of Inception‘s ending…
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Hi Adam, I think you’re reading too much into it. The top was starting to topple, that’s it, whether proper child care was arranged for or not. Btw, if he was still dreaming, surely Mal would’ve been there to greet him at the airport?
Did you analyze the Matrix as well Adam?
Hmm, we just assume the top was about to topple as it deviated slightly from its smooth cycle, however this doesn’t mean it was going to topple. It could mean that the ‘table’ prop used in the film wasn’t completely smooth or even. Also, it’s too easy to dismiss the fact that you never see the granny. One other thing that doesn’t sit right with me is that of saito was so rich, why was he travelling on what looked like an economy type train carriage in his woken state? Also, how does Cobb travel from place to place so quickly (I.e from seeing miles to getting to Mombasa?
One final thing, the characters in the film are
Dominic Cobb
Richard
Eames
Arthrr
Hmm, we just assume the top was about to topple as it deviated slightly from its smooth cycle, however this doesn’t mean it was going to topple. It could mean that the ‘table’ prop used in the film wasn’t completely smooth or even. Also, it’s too easy to dismiss the fact that you never see the granny. One other thing that doesn’t sit right with me is that of saito was so rich, why was he travelling on what looked like an economy type train carriage in his woken state? Also, how does Cobb travel from place to place so quickly (I.e from seeing miles to getting to Mombasa?
One final thing, the characters in the film are
Dominic Cobb
Richard
Eames
Ariadne
Mal
Saito.
Coincidence that Cobb assembled a team in reality to deal with dream when all their names are dreams too?
No, I didn’t care for matrix, but don’t get me started on shutter island!
Shutter Island and Inception are on the same page of the subconscious:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqr76wh8qA4
If it wasn’t intentional they would have reshot the scene. They do edit these things, ya know?
Cobb had to choose between “Mal”‘s reality or the children. He chose the children, because they were STILL ALIVE.
“Btw, if he was still dreaming, surely Mal would’ve been there to greet him at the airport?”
No. This is why he admitted he tried to create her and failed. No matter how hard he tries he can not create her as she was.
The main reason (IMO) is because deep down he killed her. Deep down he knows this and can never replace her.
So if he is dreaming then no she would not be at the airport. He would live life just as he would have to live it in the real world. With her dead.
Did any of you know that Michael Caine confirmed that the ending is real? ADAM? He confirmed it a year ago!
That was Micheal Caine, and not Christopher Nolan. Could you get a word from the man who ACTUALLY made the film to confirm it? The script does not confirm it one way or the other btw.
SOOOO WHAAAAT! So u don’t think the ending was real?
I don’t think it matters at all!
why?
Because he told himself in Limbo: “Face it. You don’t believe in one reality anymore.”
And he told Miles:
“Reality? Those kids, your grandchildren are waiting for their father to come home. That’s their reality”
Makes sense to me he chose the live children instead of his dead wife. But dream or reality? Does not matter.
as long as he
My computer at work sux!
Yes, I also recall all of the ‘usual suspects’ thinking they were kaiser soze too in the DVD extras. Means nothing. In fact, does Chris Nolan actually know whether he wants it to be a dream or reality, probably not! Which makes the film even more intriguing!! Perhaps he was in a dream perhaps he wasn’t, nobody will ever know for sure unless he comes out and announces it. Even then you would probably tell him he was wrong.
Inception is Nolan’s own real-life totem
Only HE knows its special properties..
I still think the endin is real. but I also want it to be real for Cobb because I feel sympathetic for the man wanting to see his kids so bad. If the day comes when christopher nolan says “yea…He’s stuck in a dream” or ….”it never happened” I will cry and shoot myself. Bollocks!
And that is why Nolan created such an ending. The audience relation to children or the character of Cobb can relate heavily to their own realities. But rest assured pal, Nolan will never tell what the answer really is.
But cobb is with his kids. Whether its reality or not. He’s got rid of the shadow and finally be with his kids. Everyone’s a winner.
I also like the concept of the spinning top. As something that spins in your imagination, like a record or a basketball on the end of your index finger is hard to stop. You can put your hand on it to make it stop but your brain will make it spin again!! Try it!
Now if it does keep spinning, is it because I planted the thought in your head. Chris Nolan is the man!
In the movie Cobb avoid looking at his children because he knows he won’t be able to leave. At the end, he looks at his children’s face and can’t look away.
With all these things, sometime it can e hard to tell the difference between a movie ‘clue’ and a wardrobe mistake.
Sure. There was no wardrobe mistake. Nolan is very good at checking his stuff. He would know whats a mistake. so The daughter having a pink dress with no sleeves and a white T shirt on the inside was a wardrobe mistake from her just having an entire pink dress when she was 3 years old? yea sure…
Hi, strange thing in the movie, at the beggining in the scene where he is talking to his children, they seems to be older, even his son is talking well with him, and his daughter sounds like she is ten, but in the end, those kids are small like that time he left the country because Mall killed her self… pardon my bad english… How come they didnt get any older while he was away… for so I suspect that it was his level of the dream still.
yea is the final scene real or a dream?
why does the totem continue spinning?
The ending is both real and a dream. Because its first and foremost a FILM!
yes the ending did really happen for Cobb. He is not in a dream. and the totem started to topple a bit, but Nolan stopped the film just to mess with people.
The ending is real know why? all scenes with the children are only showing their backs and never facing cobb. while in the ending it did face cobe that is the reason why cobb never looked if the top still spined or not because he knows that this is reality
Unless of course he Incepted himself and has now accepted dream as reality. Meaning he cant/wont see their faces until he has gone deep enough to lose grip.
Hi,
I looked carefully and in slow motion at the spinning object and it clearly started to wobble. I doubt that in such a carefully made film, with all it’s rules and implications, they would have accidentally filmed it wobbling unintentionally.
But I do agree that the true point is that the main character was able to accept a reality of life in which he was happy without having to know for sure if it was ‘real’.
There is also, I think, an implication that if you are able to do this in your own life, you will be happier. Having to do with accepting whatever good you can see or find in the moment perhaps…..
“I looked carefully and in slow motion at the spinning object and it clearly started to wobble. I doubt that in such a carefully made film, with all it’s rules and implications, they would have accidentally filmed it wobbling unintentionally.”
But what are the rules for the top? If you take the rules for a TOTEM and apply them to the top you still do not know if he is dreaming or in real life as HIS totem (the top) is supposed to act the same in real life and in HIS dream. Since we do not know the special properties of his top we have no clue if it is acting like it is supposed to.
That is the rule for all totems. The user changes its properties in real life so they only know them. That way they can tell if they are in someone elses dream or not.
If they are in real life the totem acts like they expect it. If they are in THEIR dream they control the top and it reacts like it is expected. If they are in someone elses dream it acts like the DREAMER expects it to act not how the creator changed it to react.
I dont disagree with the rest of your post though.
If he truly belives he in in reality, would the spinning top topple over regardless of dream or not? – I think so, in the end if he expected it to topple, it would.
I think cobs dad created a dream , or should I say level 6 ‘cobbs house’ , and I think he was the dreamer! And Cobb was the architect because everything looked just like Cobb remembered it! Here are a few tips for ya! 1.) Why didn’t the father help Cobb himself? Why did he send the chick? 2.) Don’t you think the ‘chick’ was a bit too good at that? How come she knew everything and knew what to do and what was needed? I think the symbol would still be spinning at the end , I just dint know what to think of the ending of THAT level, and 1 think is troubling me the most, where are all the others in the lvl 6? And at the end when they woke up it looked as if they didn’t know each other when they were getting their luggage . Anyways that’s my very own opinion , I hope you understand me !( my English isn’t perfect!)
1. Because the Father was Mals father (Cobbs father in-law) and his wife (Mals mother) blames Miles (father of Mal) as much as Cobb for Mals death. So that is why he does not DIRECTLY help Cobb.
2. At what? Define too good. She was his STAR pupil. Possibly better then Cobb?She didnt know everything. Arthur instructed her on a lot of things she was jsut a good/fast learner.
3. The top at the end CANT spin forever. If it spins forever he is in someone elses dream as a totem SHOULD react the same way in the holders dream as in their reality. The issue we all have is we dont know if the top was his totem and we dont know (if any) the special properties incorporated into the top.
4. They were all looking at each other as they knew a secret. They are not professional spies or such and this Inception was their first completed one. Maybe they were looking while trying not to look, making sure Robert Fischer didnt catch on.
@ Truth….Wow your view on this movie is ridiculous… Yea sure the father is the dream creator(yea right)… Why the hell would Nolan write this movie that gets deep into chartacter with just about everyone else except the father, and then say “Hey you all were wrong it was the father that made it all”….So ridiculous!
The whole thing with the top wobbling… I’ve seen the movie several times and don’t specifically recall a scene where we got to see the top spinning in a dream world for very long. Maybe it has a wobble and we don’t know it!?
The part where he goes to the chemist and is awoken after a vivid dream with he and his wife, he goes to the bathroom to splash water on his face and use his totem but the top falls off of the counter… did he ever confirm reality then? Perhaps he was taken to a different level at that point. We just don’t know!!! I am one to believe that he was still dreaming at the end and that his grandfather knowing his pain Incepted him using an elaborate ruse and the “Student” was really the extractor.
The issue is we do not know the properties of his totem. So we don’t know if he EVER verified anything with his top/totem.
Heck some people believe the top was only a red herring and his totem may have been something else. Or even he never had a totem as he just wanted to get ‘lost’ in dream world.
Cobb verified being in a DREAM when Saito spun the top across the table in Limbo. It helped Cobb keep track and separate dream from reality anyway.
But how did the top do that? We don’t know and since we don’t know we can never be sure.
The only thing the top APPEARED to do is ‘jar’ their memory. It did nothing special.
Which is the whole purpose of the totem.
The top spun between the scenes with Cobb and Saito, it never toppled.
As Saito grabbed the gun, the top was still spinning. Is not that even an indicator to you?
So what is the special properties of the top in real life?
I can make Cobbs top spin forever in my dream if I want. What I cant do is make it react how Cobb wants/knows it to react.
So no it is not an indicator. We know he is in limbo during that scene. However spinning the top (Saito spun it not Cobb) shows nothing but a perfectly gyroscopic balanced top. It doesnt spin forever as we dont see forever we only see 2 mins tops?
Can a top spin for the time it spun? I dont find it unrealistic that a top (looks like a nice perfect top) could spin for a few minutes.
Again the point is we have no knowledge of the tops properties. MAL could make it spin forever in a dream (I believe that is what Cobb stated) that doesn’t mean everyone could.
Well ok, but that is just your opinion. Read the shooting script? The top is “still spinning” as Cobb takes notice of it in the end scene with Saito. And from then on they remind eachother and escape.
The special properties of the top in real life is that it has none. Instead it was reversed and had special properties only in the dreamworld. Arthur and Ariadne’s totems had special properties in the real world.
So what is the difference (if there is any) when Saito spins it as to Cobb spinning it?
If i have always believed tops to explode, spin this top in my dream are you saying it will not explode?
Im calling BS. As all items in a dream are projections and they can not have singularity as each person can perceive it differently.
The same happened with the top when Cobb spun it in Limbo, “many many years ago” with Mal as its user. But this time Saito spun it, with Cobb being the user. Comprehend much?
You call BS on some science fiction device that lets people share the dream and take over the creating part of it. Great call man!
Yes but WE see that device and WE are told/shown what that device does.
It is never even HINTED that the top is a special totem.
The only thing remotely close to that is “Mal could make it spin forever in a dream”. But guess what in my dream if I so desire I can make the top spin forever also, I can fly and turn invisible… as can you as it is a DREAM.
Nowhere is it even hinted that the top has special properties in the dream going against everything we are told what a totem is.
We? Ariadne is we? Wtf man…
And do not include your OWN dreams into this film. That is just so stupid, sorry for choosing a not more simpler word. Nowhere is it even hinted at it has special properties in a dream? Wtf are you deaf now?
COBB
This one was hers (Mal). In the dream it would never topple. Just spin and spin.
Top is a “special totem”? Not at all. It is a flawed totem, and besides carries the special properties in reverse. Although it helped Cobb to keep track of what was reality. If the top had toppled in Limbo, there would be no ending. But. It did not. Hence…special property. Godamn kid Aknot. this is the 20th time I have to repeat myself.
“This one was hers. She’d spin it in a dream and it would never topple. Just spin and spin…”
We must be looking at two different scripts.
We? Ariadne is we? Wtf?? Where are you getting this?
WE are watching a movie. The science fiction device that lets people share dreams is the PASIV device. The PASIV device in context was EXPLAINED to us.
The special properties totem that only happens in dreams that you made up was NEVER explained to US.
US/WE being the viewer. Again I do not make stuff up. I use what is given to us from the movie.
There was no indication the TOP had SPECIAL properties. The only thing that was said was when MAL SPUN it, it would spin forever.
So if I am in a dream and I spin a totem I can make it spin forever if I so desire. Nothing special there. It follows the ‘rules’ of dreaming that we are presented with. In a dream if you are aware its a dream you can manipulate things. Making a top spin forever in a dream you know is a dream is no big deal.
Tyk… listen to yourself. “If the top had toppled in Limbo, there would be no ending. But. It did not. Hence…special property.” No special property because in dream/limbo you are in control so you can make things do as you wish. NO SPECIAL PROPERTY. Just rules of dreaming.
Hopefully I don’t have to repeat myself.
Do not mix your own dreams with Dreamshare again. Wake up. Cobb says the top has a special property inside the dream. while arthur says how important it is to have special properties in the real world. And arthur also tells ariadne that cobb does all the things he tells not to do. you clearly have been a waste of time. do not reply.
And that you are using Ariadne as “us” and “we*, is just even more stupid. She was a catalyst for the audience and Cobb. It is never used literally to explain anything to “us”. its the interpretation that counts. and you are really, and truly way off when you start to compare your own dreams that is not and will never be shared or have a rule-set like Dreamshare.
“Cobb says the top has a special property inside the dream. ”
When?
and then maybe when Saito left Cobb after he asked if he was ok, Cobb could have spunn the top again in the bathroom to confirm it…Did you ever think of that!?!? And as for the top spinning in the dream world… It spunn pretty damn long enough to say it keeps spinning smoothly!
Yes maybe…. but then maybe an alien came down and whisked his kids away holding them in stasis till he returned.
I don’t use maybes. I use what was presented to us.
As for your comment about it spinning for a long time in the dream world.
Do you actually remember the ‘requirements’ for a totem? You modify it in real life. Since we do not know its modifications we can never be sure of its properties. Since we do not know that we can never be sure what he was checking for. If we don’t know what he is checking for we can never know if he is dreaming if he is in someone elses dream or it is real life.
Yeah his totem just tells whether or not he’s in someone elses dream so at the end if it topples over, he could be in his own, which means it’s at least not limbo and probably a regular dream from which he will wake up from soon.
Considering it’s not that people didn’t “get” the movie so much as the movie just sucked balls. It was filled with plot holes and poor characters. Which they tried to cover-up by “blowing your mind”, but it didn’t do a very good job. Rules of the dream are simple, it’s the fact that the never explain why any of it is going on or who any of the people really are or how the tech came about and even though it’s so secretive apparently anyone in college has access to it. I mean really people, watch the movie as an actual story without paying attention to the effects and you will see how retarded it is. Nolan tanked on this one.
Shawn…
You are welcome to that opinion, BUT that is all it is. Many of us thoroughly enjoyed the film for a wide variety of reasons, not just the amazing effects. The concepts and story presented were quite well and intriguingly done, actually. It was not a perfect film, but it was damned good one…certainly not a “dropped ball” on Nolan’s part.
I think the end was reality (not that it matters as the point of the movie was reality is what you deem it to be) if for no other reason than from a story point of view, having it not be real would mess up too much of the drive of the movie.
If it’s not reality at the end, then everything that happened, in Inception, Saito, getting an architect to carry it out, etc, is rendered meaningless. Again, from a story point of view.
Not really.
The reason we got to see the ‘build up’ was because Cobb was incepting himself.
In order for Cobb to incept himself he had to make it seem real. So he did. He created Saito. His salvation. However in order for Saito to be able to wave his magic wand and make his troubles disappear he had to do something for him…
That something, Inception, (based on everyone) is impossible to do. So Cobb creates all these impossible things to do. And works at making them possible.
As he does this he just gets deeper and deeper into the belief that it is real…..
So no that all was important to Cobb.
This is just my opinion but I think this film confused being needlessly complicated and confusing with being intelligent and thought provoking. All the crazy stuff going on took away from the entertainment value and I spent the whole movie just trying to keep up. For me it was just not fun to watch. Period.
I’ve just watched Inception for the second time. I really enjoyed it at the cinema and took the ending to mean that he was still in a dream but his desire to see his kids again was greater than his desire to know it was actually real. So, that agrees with what’s been mentioned on this site. Upon watching again tonight on DVD I’ve come up with a new viewpoint, but not on the ending. I just believe his dream began when he first tested the strongest sedatives in Mombassa. He came out of an intense dream or vision and went straight to a bathroom. He spun the top but was interrupted by Ken Watanabes character and the top fell to the floor never having finished spinning naturally. The shot of it hitting the floor emphasised this and I think that’s where his dream began and continued. Maybe it’s a bit elaborate that but not knowing whether the top would stop spinning in the bathroom in Mombassa is the same as not knowing at the end of the film. Nevertheless, enjoyed Inception second time around. Great Movie.
Anyone else curious about how, after Cobb tested the sedatives for the first time in Mombassa we never got to see if his totem would stop spinning. When he used it in the bathroom there he was interrupted and knocked his totem to the floor. maybe the dream began there?
No. It was the only scene when Saito saw the top. And in Limbo he remembered it; “I have seen it before. Many many years ago”
Everyone will continue to have their opinions. I honestly believe even Christopher Nolan doesnt know the right answer. Unless he made a sequel, he probably thought it a good place to stop. Im sure he loves thinking of both possibilities in his head.
ARIADNE
Just working on my totem.
-Ariadne holds up the chess piece. Cobb reaches for it.
COBB
Let me see
-Ariadne SNAPS it out of his reach. Smiles. Cobb nods.
COBB
You’re learning.
ARIADNE
It’s an elegant solution to keeping
track of reality. Your invention?
COBB
No. Mal’s.
-Cobb pulls out his spinning top. Looks at it.
COBB
This one was hers. She’d spin it in
a dream and it would never topple.
Just spin and spin…
ARIADNE
Arthur told me she died.
COBB
She did. How are the mazes coming?
-Ariadne indicates three large ARCHITECTURAL MODELS.
ARIADNE
Good. Each level relates to the
part of the subject’s subconscious
we’re trying to access. I’m making
the bottom level a hospital, so
that Fischer will bring his father
there
COBB
Don’t tell me. Remember, you only
want the dreamer to know the
layout.
ARIADNE
Why’s that so important?
COBB
In case one of us brings in part of
our subconscious. You wouldn’t want
any projections knowing the layout.
ARIADNE
In case you bring Mal in.
-Cobb says nothing.
ARIADNE
You won’t build yourself because if
you know the maze, then she knows
it. And she’d sabotage the
operation. You can’t keep her out,
can you?
-Cobb says nothing.
ARIADNE
Do the others know?
COBB
No.
SAITO
Cobb? Not possible.he and I were
young men together. And I am an old
man…
COBB
Filled with regret?
-Saito REMEMBERS, nods…
SAITO
Waiting to die alone, yes.
-Cobb is STARING at something on the table.
COBB
I came back for you… I came to
remind you of what you once knew…
-Cobb gestures at the table. Saito follows his gaze down to
the polished surface of the table…
COBB
That this world is not real.
-The top IS STILL SPINNING PERFECTLY, AS IF IT WILL NEVER
TOPPLE. Saito looks at the top. Then back to Cobb.
SAITO
You came to convince me to honor
our arrangement?
COBB
Yes. And to take a leap of faith.
-As Saitosan listens to Cobb, he looks at the GUN on the
table between them…
COBB
Come back and we’ll be young men
together again.
-The elderly Saito looks at Cobb. Nods.
What I find interesting, is that Cobb never confirmed reality after testing the strong sedative in the basement of the chemists place. He spins the top and it falls on the floor. Tom Hardy asks if his ok and he puts the totem in his pocket and walks out. Cobb could easily still be dreaming from then on.
I agree with your ending and I think he’s in reality but I just thought this scene was interesting after watching it again