Even Leonardo DiCaprio can’t explain the ending of Inception. Ever since it premiered nearly 10 years ago, Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending sci-fi drama has been subject to endless debates regarding its ambiguous conclusion. As most people know by now, the movie ends with an emotional scene depicting DiCaprio’s character Cobb having his long-awaited reunion with his children. Questioning the reality of what’s going on, Cobb uses his totem (the famous spinning top) to see if he’s dreaming the encounter or not. Of course, Inception cuts to black and the credits roll before the audience learns the answer to that question, with the film’s final image that of the top teetering along a table.
There are, obviously, an abundance of theories seeking to prove Inception’s ending was real or a dream, but there’s never been a definitive resolution. The closest fans have gotten is comments from Michael Caine, who said that if his character Miles (Cobb’s father-in-law who taught him how to traverse the dream world) is in a scene, then it’s real. As convincing as that sounds, not everyone is swayed by Caine’s thoughts and continue to unpack Inception. As far as DiCaprio is concerned, he’s in the same boat as most viewers: he can’t explain it.
Appearing on podcast WTF With Marc Maron (via EW), DiCaprio discussed his feelings on Inception’s ending after his Once Upon a Time in Hollywood co-star Brad Pitt struggled to explain the finale of his own heady sci-fi film, Ad Astra:
The last part of DiCaprio’s quote essentially reflects Nolan’s thoughts on the whole thing. In the director’s mind, those who get lost in figuring out Inception’s specifics are missing the bigger point of the scene. Cobb is finally at peace with his existence, just happy to be back with his children. He spent much of the movie obsessing if he was in reality or a dream (hence, the frequent uses of the top), but in that final moment he walked away from it, showing he doesn’t care. Nolan left Inception’s ending intentionally open so viewers could form their own conclusions. For those unsatisfied by that take, the top does appear to be wobbling a bit (in dreams it was a pristine spin). And there’s also the hypothesis Cobb’s wedding ring (which disappears when he’s in the real world) is the real clue audiences should be looking for. Make of that what you will.
“I have no idea. You’re just focused on your character, man. When it came to Chris Nolan and his mind and how that was all pieced together, everyone was trying to constantly put that puzzle together… It depends on the eye of the beholder, I guess."
Nolan has no plans to make an Inception sequel, so viewers will forever be left to their own devices in their efforts to decode the film’s ending. But perhaps Cobb’s top will truly become a thing of the past when Nolan’s new film Tenet debuts this summer. Based on Tenet’s trailer, the movie looks to be every bit a twisty puzzle as audiences have come to expect from Nolan, and it’s already generating endless speculation about “The Afterlife” and what’s going on in the narrative. It’s nice to see that a decade after Inception wowed moviegoers, Nolan hasn’t lost is penchant for challenging the audience.
More: Inception Ending Explained
Source: WTF With Marc Maron (via EW)
