Understandably, there is so much debate about the context of this movie, what it means, if it's genius or pointless, what's actually going on, etc., etc., etc. In a nutshell, I'm summarizing the most prominent aspects of what I gathered this movie to portray because it seems it's been treated with so much intrication and over-analyzing: A kid is in the process of his life and consciousness fading out as, in REALITY, he has just experienced a fatal car accident. The whole movie takes place from the perspective *of what's going on in his head*. His subconscious and various other mental processes and brain activity is going to work, which constitutes most of what you see in the movie. That explains all the non-real events that occur from time to time throughout the movie. Nothing too clever because again as we find out, it was all not reality. It would have been quite the trick if it in fact was reality, and somehow they had an explanation where it all made sense. But in that case, one could argue that there would be no real theoretical value to the movie.
Anyway, what the dying character is doing subconsciously, is "pulling" in people surrounding him from the outside or in reality, and has represented them as characters in his dream-state. The main character, Ewan McGregor, in his mind is the psychologist trying to save him from dying, parallel to that in reality, the person of an entirely different form who is trying to save his life from the injuries of his car accident.
The movie depicts events that set out to question or challenge the state of reality in our minds, what is real, how what isn't real can transcend with what is real, and vice versa. Basically, the whole "life is but a dream" spill.
But alas, where have we seen this before? Well, unfortunately this movie joins the masses of other reality/mind-bending movies (i.e., The Matrix, The Jacket, Secret Window, The Butterfly Effect) that set out to get the wheels turning over the true nature of our existence in conjunction with reality and fantasy, dreams, and perception as a whole.
For that reason, as well constructed and beautifully executed as this movie was on an aesthetic level, I found nothing new from the movie and all of the mind-bending events simply being chalked up to the kids brain wigging out while he is in the process of dying left me feeling extremely disappointed and almost used. In all honestly, in the back of my mind I kind of gathered this is what the movie was all about, but desperately indulged in the hope of wanting there to be something more to the ending than again, it just pretty much being all a dream - which is something I consider to be the cheapest and lamest way to culminate the events of a plot.
In the end, there wasn't more to it...just strange events that turn out to be the kids fading mind and a few symbolic events that ONCE AGAIN, propose the speculation of reality.
My position on this movie is don't buy into the overused science. This movie is not all that clever, or the work of art that a lot of reviewers are deeming it. This movie is just a somewhat satisfying and intriguing experience until the ending hits and what once stimulated the senses to a degree, now feeds it dog food.
Anyway, what the dying character is doing subconsciously, is "pulling" in people surrounding him from the outside or in reality, and has represented them as characters in his dream-state. The main character, Ewan McGregor, in his mind is the psychologist trying to save him from dying, parallel to that in reality, the person of an entirely different form who is trying to save his life from the injuries of his car accident.
The movie depicts events that set out to question or challenge the state of reality in our minds, what is real, how what isn't real can transcend with what is real, and vice versa. Basically, the whole "life is but a dream" spill.
But alas, where have we seen this before? Well, unfortunately this movie joins the masses of other reality/mind-bending movies (i.e., The Matrix, The Jacket, Secret Window, The Butterfly Effect) that set out to get the wheels turning over the true nature of our existence in conjunction with reality and fantasy, dreams, and perception as a whole.
For that reason, as well constructed and beautifully executed as this movie was on an aesthetic level, I found nothing new from the movie and all of the mind-bending events simply being chalked up to the kids brain wigging out while he is in the process of dying left me feeling extremely disappointed and almost used. In all honestly, in the back of my mind I kind of gathered this is what the movie was all about, but desperately indulged in the hope of wanting there to be something more to the ending than again, it just pretty much being all a dream - which is something I consider to be the cheapest and lamest way to culminate the events of a plot.
In the end, there wasn't more to it...just strange events that turn out to be the kids fading mind and a few symbolic events that ONCE AGAIN, propose the speculation of reality.
My position on this movie is don't buy into the overused science. This movie is not all that clever, or the work of art that a lot of reviewers are deeming it. This movie is just a somewhat satisfying and intriguing experience until the ending hits and what once stimulated the senses to a degree, now feeds it dog food.