The opening scene of Inception introduces the main character washed ashore on a beach in a confused state. He hallucinates seeing two children, who are later revealed to be important to him. A hostile man discovers a gun on the main character and takes him to an older, powerful man. This man recognizes a small token also found on the main character. Through shots of the two men interacting around the token, it is established as being highly significant, though its importance is left mysterious, creating intrigue for the rest of the film.

1. Analysis of the opening scene to
Inception
By Michael Rumble

2. Frames 1-2
Inception starts with a extreme close up on the
main characters face as he washes up ashore
on a beach looking confused and tired.
This confusing opening is common with
thrillers as it creates many questions among
the audience as to how the main character got
on the beach and why he is there.
A eyeline match is then used to show the main
character looking towards 2 children who are
playing on a beach, this is obviously the main
character hallucinating however this adds to
the feeling of the drama as already we are
introduced to these children who are part of
the main characters life however we are still
left with many questions.

3. Frames 3-4
The main character is then approached by
a man who pokes him with the end of his
gun and through a medium close up we see
that he is wearing a military uniform and a
cap. In this picture we can see that the man
is on a large beach but is actually close to
land and it also creates tension as the man
appears to be quite hostile towards the
main character.
The man then notices something on the main
character and he uses the end of his gun to lift
the back of his shirt and this reveals that he
has a gun. This also confirms that the main
character was hallucinating when he seen the
two children and this means that the children
are important to him and could quite possible
be involved with him waking up on a beach
with a gun.

4. Frames 5-6
The man is then taken to a room with some
men standing around and an older man sat at a
table. One of the men who are assumed to be
bodyguards to the older man then places 2
objects on the table. Through a close up we see
the gun that the main character has as well as
some small token that the old man seems to
recognise. This is important as it suggests that
the old and seemingly powerful man has placed
some importance in this small token.
The main character is then dragged to a room
by two other men and through a medium
close up we can see that the room is
surrounded by bodyguards working for the
older man at the table. As the men is being
dragged, we can see that the older man
doesn’t think much of the main character.

5. Frames 7-8
A close up is used to show the older man
placing his hand on the gun and moving it to
the small trinket while the main character
eats soup at the other end of the table. This
is contradictory to the attitude that the older
man was showing before as he now appears
to be less hostile to the main character
however he still seems to be placing a large
amount of importance in the small trinket.
A medium shot is used to show the older man
picking up the trinket and spinning it across the
table staring intently into it.
This is very important to a thriller as the small
object is now confirmed to be of large importance
to more than one character and this feeling of
mystery makes the opening very intriguing.

6. Frame 9
The final scene to the opening is a close up
of the older man watching the trinket
spin, this final scene signifies how important
the small trinket is but doesn’t specify why
it is important and leaves the rest of the
film to answer that question.