Best Picture Nominee #3: Inception

 

I shall warn that when it comes to Christopher Nolan, I am just a little bit biased. In my eyes, he is the most talented filmmaker around today; his work is always insanely original (yes, even the Batman films) and his attention to detail is second to none. With that out the way, it’ll come as no surprise that I thought Inception was the best film of 2010 (one film came very close to rivaling it). Easily one of his best, it proved that blockbusters with huge-scale budgets like this can be intellectual and ridiculously rewarding. The only film that wasn’t a remake or a sequel in the top 10 highest grossing films of the year, for that alone Nolan deserved recognition from the Academy. But yet, even though nominated here and in the Best Original Screenplay category, he did not receive a nomination for his direction. Seems like some people are still prejudiced against summer blockbusters…

Would it have been nominated before the 10 nomination-rule?

In a word, no. In fact, it is quite rare that a film as big as this that was not directed by someone who has previously been Oscar nominated for Best Director gets a nomination in the first place (James Cameron got ultra-noms for Avatar due to Titanic). Inception is probably the most original offering in this years line-up, but I think its recognition is unfortunately a case of the Academy attempting to appeal to a mainstream audience – still it is nice that it has been nominated. It is strongly rumoured that the 10-nomination rule was brought about due to The Dark Knight being overlooked in 2009, but if you ask me all of Christopher Nolan''s previous films have been robbed of a nomination. However, people who liked Inception loved it a lot, so if enough members of the Academy praised Nolan's modern classic, then there could be a big (welcome) surprise on 27^th February. Then again, probably not

Rating out of 5: ●●●●●

Chances out of 5: ●●●●●