Leonardo DiCaprio saved ‘Inception’ from becoming the “superficial version” of itself
While there are many great qualities to the work of Christopher Nolan, the director has famously been criticised for his often-shoddy writing.
His knack for visual storytelling can transcend audiences to new worlds, but the dialogue and lack of character development can often leave these worlds feeling a little underexplored.
Through films like Interstellar, Dunkirk and The Dark Knight, Nolan established a style that is rich in details and universe-specific logic, with characters who possess the ability to run up walls or travel in time. However, while his films contain some emotional moments, emotion that is largely created through the score or a stellar performance from one of his many A-list collaborators, the writing doesn’t always compare, with Leonardo DiCaprio once stepping in to save one of his biggest projects from falling flat.
Unfortunately, DiCaprio is still one of the most sought-after actors in the business, with a body of work that only continues to expand as he stacks up a resume consisting of all the top male directors in the business. Whether it be his upcoming film with Paul Thomas Anderson or his hefty slate of projects with Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, DiCaprio has a vast amount of experience that makes him one of the most experienced veterans in Hollywood.
The actor utilised this wealth of knowledge in a different way when working with Nolan on his 2010 film Inception, first reading the script and realising that the story could be expanded if his character was fleshed out a little more and portrayed with more vulnerability.
The story of Mr Cobb and his adventures through the dream worlds of his enemies is now a classic in Nolan’s filmography, creating a trippy and layered universe that continually evolves before your eyes. However, DiCaprio struggled to find his way into the story as a result of his character’s emotional unavailability, with Nolan describing how his suggestions helped improve the character.
When discussing this, the director said, “The emotional story was what Leo very much responded to and wanted to expand on, so a lot of the rewriting I did with him. I was working on a more superficial version of the project—superficial may be overstating it, because all the story elements were in there, but I was still trying to approach it from a genre perspective. Leo encouraged me and demanded of me to push it in a more character-based direction, more about the relationship. He didn’t write, but he would go over the script and come up with ideas”.
Sometimes, the combined ideas of everyone involved in a production are what make a film truly great, with each insight layering on top of the others and creating a rich and full story world that reflects the creativity of everyone involved. DiCaprio’s suggestion to flesh out the intentions of his character and the emotional backstory behind his work adds an entirely new dimension to the film, making it not just about the concept behind the story but the very human emotion that grounds it.
