Thriller Conventions in 'Inception'

I would class the film 'Inception' as a thriller, as it uses many examples of typical thriller conventions. For example; a typical thriller film would center its narrative around a crime, such as a theft or murder. Inception centers around the crime of going into someone else's mind and planting an idea there. The crime stems from a bargain between two characters, one who doesn't want competition from another business so needs the owner to change his mind about running it, and one who is promised freedom from the authorities and being able to see his children again if he successfully carries out this crime. I think the way 'Inception' is centered around this crime rather than a typical murder is to show how different and original a film it is going to be; to stand out, attract and, entertain audiences.

Another thing used in the storyline of many thriller films is an antagonist who exploits the weaknesses of the protagonist. In this film, Cobb is the protagonist and Mol is the antagonist but also his weakness, so she uses his love for her against him. She exploits his weakness for her and their children to try and get him to do what she wants, thinking of her is dangerous to him and his team and makes him vunerable, but by the end he manages to overcome his weakness for her, enough that she can't control him anymore.

At the very beginning of this film we can see examples of thriller conventions as a series of important enigmas are set up in the opening sequence of the film, further complicated throughout and explained by the end of the film. The film starts with an event from the end o the film and introduces the characters to us as how the storyline leads them to be. the audience are left wondering how this scene came to be, and this is all explained to us at the very end of the film. Camerawork shows us things that are important to the storyline, such as how there is a close up of the spinning top, and the meaning of this is slowly explained to us during the film.

The narrative of this film, much like a typical thriller presents ordinary situations in which extraordinary things occur; Ariadne and Cobb are sitting outside a cafe, then suddenly she realises it is a dream and everything around her starts exploding. Editing, such as special effects is used in this scene to make everything explode.

Themes of identity in Inception are common; a doppelganger, which has before been used in thriller films, is used when one of the characters involved in the crime turns himself into a different person by going inside Fisher's mind and making him see him as a close family friend. In the same scene other characters involved in the crime also hide their identity's by wearing black clothing over their heads,to convince Fisher he has been kidnapped as part of the crime. There is then a close up shot of him looking scared to show how this effects and influences him.