Rachel Fabian

FTS 144: Prof. Nilsen

Inception Narrative Analysis
10/26/10
Act I:
Opening Scene: Interior Japanese Castle, where an old man washes ashore and is brought in to talk to
an elderly Japanese man. The old Japanese man asks the other old man if he's there to kill him.
Cut to same interior Japanese Castle Dream (present day/not so distant future) introduction of
protagonist Cobb, mid-30s killed subconscious extractortrying to steal valuable information from
Saito, a mid-40s Japanese businessman
Initial Conflict: Cobb's partner in the dream, Arthur, notices that Saito expects something and things
aren't going right p there Nash (older man), another member of Cobb's team monitering Cobb and
Arthur while they're asleep notices the hotel room he is in is quaking, and Todashi (18) anxiously
monitors Nash, Saito, Arthur, and Cobb on a turbulent bullet train which is established as the real
onscious world
Inciting Incident: Cobb needs to get to Saito's safe in his dream to steal valuable information for Cobol
Engineering, but Mal (Cobb's wife) foils his plan and Cobb's team wakes up on the bullet train before the
job is finished
Protagonists Goal Introduced: Saito catches up with Cobb and knows he tried to double-cross him
from Nash. Saito threatens to tell Cobol Engineering about Cobb's failure if Cobb doesn't agree to
perform inception. Cobb refuses, but agrees when Saito promises that if he succeeds Cobb will be able
to see his children in America. The fact that Cobb is an adoring father willing to do anything for his
children makes him a sympathetic protagonist.
Cobb travels around the world and assembles a new team for the inception project: Arthur, Ariadne,
Eames, Saito, and Yusuf. At the same time Cobb is being chased by Cobol henchmen
Conflict Introduced: Ariadne learns that Cobb cannot keep Mal out of his subconscious, and realizes
Cobb poses a risk to the whole operation because of Mal's efforts to sabotage him. She learns about
how Mal committed suicide, and how Cobb's guilt makes him unable to let go of her. Cobb insists
though that he can perform inception without Mal interfering, and Ariadne keeps his secret from the rest
of the team.
Act II:
Inception commences: Cobb and his team board a 12-hour flight with Daniel Fischer, and sedate him
and themselves.
1st Turning Point: In the first dream layer Daniel's subconscious has been militarized against intruders.
Cobb and his team must not be killed or else they will not wake up, but instead be in the limbo of their
subconscious indefinitely. Cobb has been to limbo before with Mal, and knows how difficult it is to
return to consciousness. We learned that Mal killed herself when she oke upfrom limbo because she
believed she was still dreaming and that's why Cobb had to leave America and his children. Saito is shot
and badly wounded, and Cobb emphasizes that synchronizing the kick in all three dream layers is the
only way to wake up alive.
Second dream layer: Cobb exhibits his skill in persuasion, and gets Fischer to go down another dream
level.
Twist/Turn: Yusuf begins the kick too early, and Cobb and his team must fight the clock to stay alive.
Cobb convinces Ariadne to tell him the details of the third dream's layout, despite the fact that Ariadne
knows that id she tells Cobb that Mal could interfere a any moment in the dream.
Twist/Turn: Mal shows up in the dream and shoots Fischer (sending him to Limbo), and Cobb shoots

Mal. Ariadne and Cobb decide to risk there lives and go to Limbo to save Fischer.
Lowest point for protagonist: When they are in Limbo, Cobb reveals to Ariadne that he did inception
on Mal so that she would realize the world they built in Limbo was not real and that she would kill
herself along with Cobb to wake up. The inception back-fired and Mal killed herself because she
thought reality was a dream.
Climax: Cobb hands himself over to Mal in exchange for Fischer, and tells Ariadne he will search for
Saito who is already dead. Mal is angry that Cobb doesn't think she's real and stabs him. Ariadne shoots
Mal.
Act III:
Ariadne kicks Fischer back to the third dream level where Fischer encounters his father, who is the
vehicle for the inception. The inception is executed successfully.
2nd Turning Point: Ariadne leaves Cobb in limbo to find Saito. Cobb says his final goodbye to Mal as
she dies in Limbo-putting her memory to rest at last. He washes up on the shores of Saito's
subconscious an old man, and goes into the same Japanese castle from the first scene. He encounters
Saito, also an old man, who asks Cobb if he's there to kill him. Cobb explains to Saito that he's there to
bring him back to reality.
Resolution: Cobb and his team all wake up on the plane, along with Fischer. Saito is alive and well,
and places the call so that Cobb can go see his children.
Cobb returns to his children and finally gets to see their faces. He spins his top-the totem that tells him
whether he's in a dream (it keeps spinning) or in reality (it eventually stops spinning)- and walks away.
He doesn't see that the top continues spinning.