To qualify under the genre of ‘thriller’, a film generally has to contain a few key notions; a defined protagonist and antagonist- the struggle between the two creating obstacles for the protagonist, usually in a life or death situation in a fast paced, suspenseful and tense narrative. The purpose of a thriller is to stimulate and excite audience response, with filmmakers using various techniques to do so, including sound, mise-en-scene, character, camera angles and movement, dialogue and lighting.
‘Inception’, Nolan’s 9 year project, originally intended as a horror film includes all of these aspects that create a thriller film. It also, like nearly every other modern thriller film, hits other film genres, making it a psychological, sci-fi, action thriller. Although these other genre conventions form much of the narrative, Nolan’s intentions of creating suspense, tension and excitement for the audience classifies it clearly as a thriller.
Firstly, in terms of the protagonist vs. antagonist; Dom Cobb is the defined protagonist, the actions of whom shape the majority of the narrative. His aim is ‘Inception’, the narrative structuring itself around this eventual goal. This is, of course, conventional of thrillers in that although Cobb has a team, the film’s focus is him, and so the events of the film are often determined by or affect him. This solitude is reinforced by his shady character and unclear past, forming the subplot involving his deranged dead wife and inability to find inner peace.
The antagonist is somewhat confused, however, this being the mind of their victim, Robert Fischer. This would seem unconventional, as the antagonist is not clear and defined, but the due to the narrative, the internal of their victim’s mind puts up physical barriers to stop Cobb and his team from invading his mind. These defences act almost as an organised army, fighting for the same cause, which Cobb’s team need to beat to achieve their aim. They are presented in the form of a hostile organisation, with armed assassins and bodyguards forming barriers for the protagonists. This notion is not unconventional, as seen in nearly all of the ‘James Bond’ films, ‘Die Hard’ films, the ‘Rambo’ franchise, ‘Taken’ and ‘Salt’.
Looking at the narrative; structurally, it is generic to thriller films. It uses twists and changes throughout to create the illusion of spontaneity and suspense, but in fact it follows a fairly simple action-thriller structure. It begins with a fight scene, which leads to the setting of the mission, followed by training and assembling of Cobb’s team. First challenge with twist, second challenge, third challenge + final fight scene and end with cliff-hanger.
The main difference in the set-up of Inception and the generic action-thriller is that most of the action takes place in a dream, allowing more surreal and so unconventional (as many thrillers use realism to create tension) images to screen. This situation falls more under the sci-fi genre and psychological subgenre of thriller, but is allowed to due to the broadness of the ‘thriller’ genre, with its many subgenres and variations.
Despite the defined narrative structure, the settings, twists and surrealism present a non-linear, confused and twisting plot line. This is conventional- and almost essential of thriller films, as it prevents the audience from guessing what is going to happen in the film, thus creating suspense and audience interest. ‘Inception’ asks a lot of questions near the beginning of the film, such as into Cobb’s past, why he is like he is, the relationship between him and his team members, the connection between the old man he meets in the opening scene and his fate, all of which are not answered until later scenes. Along with these narrative questions, the ultimate question that surfaces is ‘will the team succeed?’- this constant question asking with delayed answering time acts as narrative hooks to entice and excite the viewer. This technique is typical of thriller films to keep the audience guessing and keep them entertained- this classic thriller technique is evidence for ‘Inception’ being a thriller.
On a more basic level, in terms of mise-en-scene, ‘Inception’ contains all the elements that make an action/espionage/mystery/crime thriller, including guns, with full gun fights, close combat fight scenes, car chases, high octane fight and dialogue scenes, training and planning scenes, simple chase scenes, city settings and domestic settings. Perhaps more unconventional to a classic thriller which feeds of realism, in true sci-fi thriller style, ‘Inception’ sports zero gravity fight scenes, the destruction of cities, ulterior worlds, dream invasion machines and city building from mind and memory. These elements of the mise-en-scene coupled with a string-heavy-fast-paced-tension-building soundtrack, merging a classical score with a more modern, electrical and synthesized number.
To conclude, ‘Inception’ falls under the thriller genre due to the conventions of thriller it hits, whilst pushing the boundaries of the genre- this, itself, becoming a convention. ‘Inception’ has a fast paced, non-linear, twisted and convoluted narrative, whilst retaining and using a clear and defined action-thriller narrative structure. Mise-en-scene and score wise, ‘Inception’ is a thriller, and the clear, defined protagonist with full subplot and mysterious past results in a conventional thriller. There are some aspects of the film that may go beyond ‘thriller’ in the most generic and traditional sense, such as dream invasion, however, due to the broadness of the all-encompassing genre, the way these more sci-fi elements are put across make it a thriller. It could be argued that ‘Inception’ is categorised as a thriller because of the blanketing nature of the thriller genre. All in all, a thriller film demands a fast, twisting plot, with suspenseful and tense scenes, usually in a life-or-death situation involving a protagonist and antagonist. This ‘Inception’ does, and so this is why it can be categorised as a thriller.
