There is :) Two times should be enough :) The answer *is* in the final scene, but it is concealed so that we will only be 100% sure once somebody can freeze a few frames from the DVD release or a bootleg. The answer is the wedding band. Starting from the very beginning of the movie, up to the final scene, Nolan explicitly shows Cobb’s left hand in numerous occasions, and there is never any ambiguity: after his wife’s death, he is only wearing it when he dreams, never in reality.

Now your answer is in the final scene: is he wearing his wedding band? Nolan is completely in control on the editing here, and he knows you will be looking for it: he makes very explicit choices to conceal that left hand. DiCaprio will grab his suitcase with his left hand, hiding the ring that way. When he spins the totem with his right hand at the end, Cobb put his left hand on a chair at the same time (in an awkward move if you ask me) so that his fingers are hidden by the back of the chair, etc. But your answer is still there because there are enough frames where his left hand is reaching for something, and I’m 99% sure whether he has it or not :)

Anyway. This is not very important, imho, it’s more a gimmick. What’s important in that scene, to me, is that he is ignoring the totem. It doesn’t matter to him anymore, whether he is in reality or not, as long as he is happy.

It’s brilliant film-making from a creative mind that has yet to disappoint (Insomnia was fine but certainly overwhelmed by the strength and labyrinthine boldness of his other offerings). I love that his original work makes me think, sparks conversation and causes me to look up articles to go deeper. Inception didn’t leave my head for hours the first time I saw it which is why I had to go again the following day. I’m pleased to have someone in Hollywood who doesn’t dumb down his content and what’s more is I’m glad he’s successful! This means we’ll have more depth to look forward to in the future – “Downwards is the only way forwards.”

Considering I’m a dyed in the wool skeptic, that’s a heck of an accomplishment Nolan pulled off.

In re: self referential, in the good sense . . . I liked the fact that Nolan used an Edith Piaf song as a key plot device in the movie, given that he had the woman who portrayed her definitively in film as one of his stars . . .

In fact, if you were in the theater at the same time as me, you would have heard me laughing rather profusely.

Also, I’m a little tired of the whole Leo-pointing-his-finger-at-people-in-close-quarters-when-he’s-pissed, but that’s more of a problem with the actor (since he does it in every movie) and not really the film.

From a conceptual perspective, Inception was truly a genius concept. They really did their homework when considering the gravity and time effects of the dreams within dreams. I even got myself to think back to my calculus days and think about derivatives and second derivatives to try and understand what was going on with gravity. Good stuff.

And much like you, I could go on for days praising the film, so I’ll stop.