Top vs. Ring: Theories About the End

This 2010 contemporary sci-fi actioner follows a subconscious security team around the globe and into the intimate and infinite world of dreams.
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When i came out of the theatre, I was convinced that the ending scene was a dream, but now I'm convinced that it's reality. The only thing throwing a wrench in the reality theory is that his kids are exactly as they appear in his dreams :think:

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Eternalist wrote:When i came out of the theatre, I was convinced that the ending scene was a dream, but now I'm convinced that it's reality. The only thing throwing a wrench in the reality theory is that his kids are exactly as they appear in his dreams :think:
In regards to logic, we don't have a timeframe since his wife died. In regards to emotion as someone else pointed out, if the kids looked like teenagers then Cobb and the audience wouldn't have less of an emotional attachment to the kids. Also Cobb when talking to Adriane mentioned how it was that particular memory that he wished he could change and in the end, he did by seeing his kids.
Last edited by Jarmel on July 17th, 2010, 6:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Right, the kids looking the same is part of the emotional payoff. It's a film, so it has to repeat visual iconography like that. If it was a novel, then we could have a whole written passage about how Cobb recognized his children even though they were older, etc...but the film needed a quick ending and that would have been awkward/less effective. When he finally saw their faces I got really swept up in the moment, but that moment was only made possible by the repeated visual of them in the same clothes, etc...

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Eternalist wrote:When i came out of the theatre, I was convinced that the ending scene was a dream, but now I'm convinced that it's reality. The only thing throwing a wrench in the reality theory is that his kids are exactly as they appear in his dreams :think:
Actually On my third viewing I finally came to a firm conclusion that his children are not only wearing different (but similar) clothes, but also aged a few years. The boy is wearing a different colored plaid shirt and the girls has a white and pink dress instead of just a pink one. The children did age and they did change clothes.

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Nice! So similar, but different. Just similar enough to get the recognition from the previous dream scenes, especially on first viewing.

Man, Nolan is a genius with every aspect of his films. "He's in control..." :batface:

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I like this analysis of Mal's relationship to the totem, but there is one piece to resolve. If the top spinning or not spinning is a clear sign to her that she is or isn't in someone's dream, why doesn't Cobb simply spin the top for her before she jumps from the window? It would not spin infinitely, and she would have to realize that she was in reality.

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jamiex wrote:I like this analysis of Mal's relationship to the totem, but there is one piece to resolve. If the top spinning or not spinning is a clear sign to her that she is or isn't in someone's dream, why doesn't Cobb simply spin the top for her before she jumps from the window? It would not spin infinitely, and she would have to realize that she was in reality.
Because the top is spinning constantly in her subconscious. The idea that Cobb planted grew and took over her life to the point that she couldn't even believe her own totem.

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Jarmel wrote:
Eternalist wrote:When i came out of the theatre, I was convinced that the ending scene was a dream, but now I'm convinced that it's reality. The only thing throwing a wrench in the reality theory is that his kids are exactly as they appear in his dreams :think:
In regards to logic, we don't have a timeframe since his wife died. In regards to emotion as someone else pointed out, if the kids looked like teenagers then Cobb and the audience wouldn't have less of an emotional attachment to the kids. Also Cobb when talking to Adriane mentioned how it was that particular memory that he wished he could change and in the end, he did by seeing his kids.
Ah, nice catch, I wish we had screenshot comparisons.

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theweatherman wrote: Actually On my third viewing I finally came to a firm conclusion that his children are not only wearing different (but similar) clothes, but also aged a few years. The boy is wearing a different colored plaid shirt and the girls has a white and pink dress instead of just a pink one. The children did age and they did change clothes.
i can confirm that this is true, also noticed this after my third viewing. really subtle difference.

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On imdb there are two sets of child actors which show that the kids at the end of the movie have aged slightly, and therefore can't be projections
Claire Geare ... Phillipa (3 years)
Magnus Nolan ... James (20 months)

Taylor Geare ... Phillipa (5 years)
Johnathan Geare ... James (3 years)
Now that I've finally realized the meaning of the ending, it's so beautiful. Because Nolan didn't show the top fall at the end, he put doubts in the audiences mind as to whether its a dream or reality. Which is exactly what Nolan wants us to do, question the reality of the world we live in, even if its just for a moment.

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