“This is going to be hugely controversial, but for me, in the moment I watched it, the end of Inception was hugely satisfying. You saw him turn his back on the top and go out to greet his kids, and the camera focused on the top, and (AS I SAW IT) a split second before the camera cut to black, the top juuuuust started to wobble, and you knew it was going to fall. I didn’t realize that not everyone saw it that way until I showed the film to a friend, and in that breathless moment after the screen went black, they were like, ‘Oh NOOOOO!’ and I was like, ‘What?’ Many people didn’t see the top wobbling, or at least they didn’t see the wobble as a sign that it was slowing down. They saw it as part of the endless spinning that indicated Dom was still dreaming and had NOT escaped.”

“Personally, I think that potential ambiguity was BRILLIANT. Christopher Nolan COULD have cut to black when the top was spinning smoothly, leaving the end entirely unknown. Some people would still choose to believe that it was going to fall eventually, because of hope, but they would know that that’s entirely based on optimism. Or he could have cut to black when the top had slowed a LOT, making it obvious. 

But this is an example where the EVIDENCE BEFORE YOUR EYES is actively influenced by your mindset (hope or doubt). So for some people, the end was incredibly joyful and satisfying, and for others, it was tragic.”

—etconner