Inception

Are you here to kill me?

I know what this is.

I've seen one before. Many, many years ago.

It belonged to a man I met in a half-remembered dream.

A man possessed of some radical notions.

What is the most resilient parasite?

A bacteria? A virus?

An intestinal worm?

Uh...

What Mr. Cobb is trying to say--

An idea.

Resilient. Highly contagious.

Once an idea has taken hold of the brain, it's almost impossible to eradicate.

An idea that is fully formed, fully understood, that sticks.

Right in there somewhere.

For someone like you to steal?

Yes. In the dream state, your conscious defenses are lowered...

...and that makes your thoughts vulnerable to theft.

It's called extraction.

Mr. Saito, we can train your subconscious to defend itself...

...from even the most skilled extractor.

How can you do that?

Because I am the most skilled extractor.

I know how to search your mind and find your secrets. I know the tricks.

And I can teach them to you, so that even when you're asleep...

...your defense is never down.

Look, if you want my help, you're gonna have to be completely open with me.

I need to know my way around your thoughts better than your wife...

...better than your therapist, better than anyone.

If this is a dream, and you have a safe full of secrets...

...I need to know what's in that safe.

In order for this all to work, you need to completely let me in.

Enjoy your evening, gentlemen, as I consider your proposal.

He knows.

What's going on up there?

Saito knows. He's playing with us.

Doesn't matter. I can get it here. Trust me.

The information is in the safe.

He looked right at it when I mentioned secrets.

What's she doing here?

Just head back to the room. All right? I'll take care of this.

Okay, make sure you do. We're here to work.

If I jumped, would I survive?

With a clean dive, perhaps.

Mal, what are you doing here?

I thought you might be missing me.

You know that I am.

But I can't trust you anymore.

So what?

Looks like Arthur's taste.

Actually, the subject is partial to postwar British painters.

Please, have a seat.

Tell me...

...do the children miss me?

You can't imagine.

What are you doing?

Just getting some fresh air.

Stay where you are, Mal.

Goddamn it.

[SILENCED GUNSHOT THEN GUARD GRUNTS]

Turn around.

The gun, Dom.

Please.

Now the envelope, Mr. Cobb.

Did she tell you? Or have you known all along?

That you're here to steal from me, or that we are actually asleep?

I want to know the name of your employer.

Ah, there's no use threatening him in a dream, right, Mal?

That depends on what you're threatening.

Killing him would just wake him up.

But pain...

Pain is in the mind.

And judging by the decor, we're in your mind, aren't we, Arthur?

- What are you doing? It's too soon. - But the dream's collapsing.

I'm gonna try to keep Saito under a little bit longer. We're almost there.

He was close. Very close.

Stop him!

This isn't gonna work. Wake him up.

He won't wake.

- Give him the kick. What?

Dunk him.

He's out.

You came prepared, hmm?

Not even my head of security knows this apartment. How did you find it?

It's difficult for a man of your position to keep a love nest like this secret...

...particularly where there's a married woman involved.

- She would never... - Yet here we are.

- With a dilemma. - They're getting closer.

- You got what you came for. Well, that's not true.

You left out a key piece of information, didn't you?

You held something back because you knew what we were up to.

- Question is, why'd you let us in at all? - An audition.

- An audition for what? - Doesn't matter. You failed.

We extracted every bit of information you had in there.

But your deception was obvious.

[EDITH PIAF'S "NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN" PLAYING]

- So leave me and go. - You don't seem to understand, Mr. Saito.

That corporation that hired us, they won't accept failure.

We won't last two days.

Cobb?

Looks like I'm gonna have to do this a little more simply.

Tell us what you know! Tell us what you know, now!

I've always hated this carpet.

It's stained and frayed in such distinctive ways.

But very definitely made of wool.

Right now...

...I'm lying on polyester.

Which means I'm not lying on my carpet, in my apartment.

You have lived up to your reputation, Mr. Cobb.

I'm still dreaming.

- How'd it go? - Not good.

Dream within a dream, huh? I'm impressed.

But in my dream, you play by my rules.

Ah, yes, but you see, Mr. Saito...

We're not in your dream.

We're in mine.

Asshole. How do you mess up the carpet?

- It wasn't my fault. - You're the architect.

I didn't know he was gonna rub his cheek on it!

That's enough.

You. What the hell was all that?

- I have it under control. - I'd hate to see you out of control.

We don't have time for this. I'm getting off at Kyoto.

He's not gonna check every compartment.

Yeah, well, I don't like trains.

Listen. Every man for himself.

Yes, hello?

Hi, Daddy. Hi, Dad.

Hey, guys. Hey. How are you? How you doing, huh?

Good. Okay, I guess.

Okay? Who's just okay? Is that you, James?

Yeah. When are you coming home, Dad?

Well, I can't, sweetheart. I can't. Not for a while, remember?

Why?

Look, I told you, I'm away because I'm working, right?

Grandma says you're never coming back.

Phillipa, is that you?

Put Grandma on the phone for me, will you?

She's shaking her head.

Well, just hope she's wrong about that.

Daddy?

Yeah, James?

ls Mommy with you?

James, we talked about this.

Mommy's not here anymore.

Where?

That's enough, kids. Say bye-bye.

Listen, I'm gonna send some presents with Grandpa, all right?

And you be good, you be--

- Our ride's on the roof. - Right.

Hey, are you okay?

Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Why?

Well, down in the dream, Mal showing up.

Look, I'm, uh, sorry about your leg. Won't happen again.

- It's getting worse, isn't it? - One apology's all you're getting, all right?

- Where's Nash? - He hasn't shown. You wanna wait?

We were supposed to deliver Saito's expansion plans...

...to Cobol Engineering two hours ago.

By now, they know we failed. It's time we disappear.

- Where you gonna go? - Buenos Aires.

I can lie low there, maybe sniff out a job when things quiet down. You?

Stateside.

Send my regards.

He sold you out. Thought to come to me and bargain for his life.

So I offer you the satisfaction.

It's not the way I deal with things.

- What will you do with him? - Nothing.

But I can't speak for Cobol Engineering.

- What do you want from us? - Inception.

- Is it possible? - Of course not.

If you can steal an idea from someone's mind...

...why can't you plant one there instead?

Okay, here's me planting an idea in your head.

I say, "Don't think about elephants." What are you thinking about?

Elephants.

Right. But it's not your idea, because you know I gave it to you.