In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a single idea within one’s mind can be the most dangerous weapon or their most valuable asset. This is the premise behind Leonardo DiCaprio’s new movie Inception. The film is directed by none other than Christopher Nolan who is responsible for taking the Batman franchise to a whole new level. I sat down with Leo to talk about the movie and what it like working with Nolan.

Tell me about your role in the film, and the practice of “inception.”
I suppose my character’s level of expertise in the film is keeping that central focus in a world of chaos. Obviously, it’s a very specific set of skills. He works as a criminal in an underground black market of individuals who are able to infiltrate people’s minds or in this case, incept an idea or a thought or a way of life or new way of looking their real life thereby altering the course of the real world and that’s what this job is for that group of people.

The movie has some amazing effects and scenes in it. How was the look of the film achieved?
There were certainly a lot of sequences in this film where the surreal does happen, and it’s happening on a physical level. Ironically, most of the time those things weren’t done on green screen. There was very little green screen in this movie. If a scene had to be tilted because in an alternate reality there was some kind of gravity shift, he [director Christopher Nolan] would put the entire set on hydraulics and shift that entire bar. We had to do an entire sequence where I was trying to reassure another character that I was his protector in this dream sequence and things would be flying by us, and we had to hold onto the set; so, we didn’t slide off.

What was it like working with Christopher Nolan?
There was a lot of situations throughout the course of the film whether we were wrapped up in cables, floating through an elevator shaft or being soaked by a massive water tank that was blasting around us or whether the streets of Paris were disintegrating before our very eyes; what was amazing to witness is how they made it seem like it was all in a day’s work. Chris and his team are so efficient and highly organized and have conveyed exactly what they want to everyone involved in the movie making process that these spectacular events happen and then you go to lunch. It was kind of all in a days work.

What can people look forward to when they go see this movie?
You feel grounded. You feel like you understand the rules. You’re watching it right before your eyes, but you’re also in a constant state of suspense because you never really know what’s going to happen next. Your ultimate realization is that you know the characters have to come to some sort of realization, but how that unravels is what the imagination is.

You can experience Inception this week when the film opens nationwide. It is rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout. For all of this week’s new releases and more of your favorite celebs, check out my show Reel Critics on Time Warner Cable Video on Demand under the North Texas programming tab!