Christopher Nolan Reveals His Answer for Explaining Inception’s Ending

Audiences might have gotten a bit more than they bargained for when they went to see Christopher Nolan’s Inception back in 2010, as the film’s blend of dreams and layers of reality caused some head-scratching reactions among audiences, but the filmmaker himself offered a pretty straightforward explanation for the end of the movie. The film ends with a shot of a spinning top, with Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) embracing his children as the camera looms on the top. Nolan said that, since Cobb didn’t care whether the top ever fell, that’s the only part of the mystery that should matter.

“I haven’t been asked that in a while, thankfully. I went through a phase where I was asked it a lot. Every now and again, I would make the mistake of getting caught outside of a screening where everyone was coming out,” Nolan confirmed to the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “I think it was [producer] Emma [Thomas] who pointed out the correct answer, really, is the character, Leo’s character, the point of the shot is the character doesn’t care. That’s really the best answer I’ve ever come up with. But yeah, it’s not a question I comfortably answer.”

For those who might not remember the specifics of Inception‘s plot, there are dreams within dreams within dreams, with these layers of the subconscious making virtually anything possible, while only moments of time pass in the real world. The significance of the top is that, in the real world, only Cobb knew the weight of this top and it would eventually topple when he was in the real world. By the film’s final shot denying us the moment in which the top falls, fans have been left to speculate whether Cobb has returned to the real world or if he’s still trapped in a dream.

While it’s worth noting that Nolan isn’t explicitly confirming from a narrative standpoint whether Cobb is in the dream or if he’s back in reality, the more important thing is that the character has committed to their world, whatever it might be. Just earlier this year, Nolan offered up similar remarks and noted that he views the ending as optimistic.

“I mean, the end of Inception, it’s exactly that,” the filmmaker shared with Wired about the film’s optimism. “There is a nihilistic view of that ending, right? But also, he’s moved on and is with his kids. The ambiguity is not an emotional ambiguity. It’s an intellectual one for the audience.”

Nolan’s latest film, Oppenheimer, is in theaters now.

What did you think of the film’s ending? Let us know in the comments!