Today I bring you another one of my weird movie analyses, but this one is an oldie I found and think that I did a damn good job at, so I wanted to share it with you guys. Tell me what you think. Is it good? Is it true? 

   This was for a class at uni called Film Analysis. We had to choose a scene from a film and talk about a certain aspect. I chose clothes and colour and opened up a whole world of WTF I never knew about until I started to pay attention to the movie for this assignment. I will divide this in two, so in this post, I will only talk about costume design.

   First of all, we have to point out that Ariadne goes into the dream without a jacket and suddenly appears with one on inside the elevator. Why? Maybe, deep down, she knows she is going to need protection from what she is about to see in this foreign dream and her subconscious is creating her a physical barrier which is a universal symbol for protection against an environment that can hurt her body: a jacket... She is also wearing a yellow scarf. This colour symbolizes wanting to be free and all that involves evolution. Perhaps a symbol of Adriadne's curiosity then?

   Now, Cobb is an interesting case. He's dressed differently outside his dream than within it. Outside he has an impeccable dress shirt with dress pants. But in the dream he looks much more comfortable. There he has almost the exact same coloured shirt, but you can tell it's a different fabric, a more stretchy one, tough and rustic (corduroy?) and a grey shirt underneath. 

   This could be because he feels less restricted or encased in those clothes than in a formal outfit and in the dream he frees himself from those restrictions. The real difference is in the impeccableness: in the real world, he wants to appear as someone flat, controlled and  clean, no layers, what you see is what you get; meanwhile, in the dream he is a right mess and he knows it, he has textures and layers of clothes, which transmits that he has a lot of issues and dilemmas in many levels of his being, he's disheveled and not the perfect man he plays out to be.

   In her first appearance Mal has a brown dress and heels. You can tell they're not lounging-about-at-home kind of wear. Is she going somewhere? Does Cobb always feel like she is always at the edge of an abyss and he's about to lose her? Maybe that's how he remembers her and that's why his subconscious dresses her that way.

    Her second outfit consists of a bit more formal attire: a skintight brown dress and a beige coat. It doesn't match the picture of a mother taking her kids to the beach, does it? Nevertheless, the colours contradict this, transmitting a well-being and balanced vibe.   

   Mal's third and last outfit is a formal and tight little dress, very sensual, showing her seductive silhouette. The colour purple/wine symbolizes agitated emotions, blood, rage and it generates negative thoughts when placed in contrast with the pale colours that surround her in the hotel room. Huh, interesting.

   The first time we see Cobb's children, they have earth toned clothes: brown, ochre, maroon; and the boy has a mustard striped shirt. Every colour tends to lead to variations of brown. Likewise it translates to a state of well-being and warmth. But it's a warmth that tries to cover up problems and uncomfortable emotions. Then, the kids make a second  appearance with another set of clothes: a bright pink dress and checkered blue, red and white shirt. Pink symbolizes youth in its core, its sweetness and delicacy. This girl is precious to Cobb and he regrets he couldn't see her face of his little princess. Red, white and blue symbolize love, strength, purity and freedom. This can translate to the fierce desire the father has to reunite with his children again.

   Lastly, the outfit of the person who hands Cobb his tickets is black. This means mystery, what is about to happen is unknown and Cobb must make a choice and he doesn't know where it might lead him. It may allude to a bad omen and dark days ahead. He has a white shirt and a flowered tie, but they are covered by the black jacket: hope and light are dampened by the uncertain.