Shot x Shot Analysis

Inception

"You're Waiting for a Train"

The scene begins with a close up shot of Mal who is clearly distraught over the story Cobb is about to tell that she has never heard before.

Next, we move to a close up of Cobb for a reaction shot. Here we can see he is expressing a similar emotion as it is a story he does not like to tell.

Back to a close up of Mal for a reaction.

Close up of Ariadne.

Back to a close up of Cobb to show his uneasiness about the subject.

Back to a close up of Mal.

Close up of Ariadne.

Final emotional close up of Cobb before flashback begins.

Medium wide shot of Mal and Cobb with a shallow depth of field to focus on them as they walk alone in a world created for only them.

Close up of Mal from a low angle as she sees something important.

Over the shoulder to reveal the house.

Medium close up from behind Mal as she reaches into her daughter's doll house.

Close up of Mal's hand twisting the dial and unlocking a safe strategically hidden in the doll house.

Close up of Mal's face from a low angle as she reaches into the safe for the top.

Extreme close up of the top (the bigger the small item is on screen, the more important it is to the film).

Close up of Mal's hand as she closes the safe once again.

Back to present time, close up of Cobb.

Over the shoulder close up of Mal for a reaction shot.

Flashback to another moment in time. Medium close up from a low angle of Cobb as he walks.

Over the shoulder of the same house from the earlier flashback. The shots in this part of the scene directly align with the shots of Mal from the first flashback.

Medium close up of Cobb opening the doll house.

Close up of Cobb's hand as he opens the safe.

Close up of Cobb's face from a low angle for a reaction shot.

Extreme close up of the top.

Back to a close up Cobb's face as he reaches into the safe.

Back to the extreme close up of the top as it continually spins.

Back to a close up of Cobb as he begins to close the safe with the top still spinning.

Close up of Cobb's hand as he closes the safe.

Wide shot of Cobb and Mal walking along railroad tracks to establish the next series of events.

Back to present time for a close up of Mal for a reaction.

Close up of Mal. This shot is sideways as she lays upon the railroad tracks.

Close up of Cobb holding onto Mal's hand.

Over the shoulder close up of Cobb, sideways as he lays on the railroad tracks.

Close up of bolts of railroad track with a shallow depth of field to express the distance of the train.

Close up of Mal as she lays on the tracks.

Ove the shoulder close up of Cobb.

Extreme close up of Mal.

Over the shoulder close up of Cobb.

Extreme close up of bolts of train tracks, still with a shallow depth of field.

Extreme close up of Cobb and Mal's hands. As the scene intensifies the shots get closer and closer and cutting becomes much quicker.

Even closer close up of Cobb as he looks behind Mal at the approaching train.

Close up of Mal, not quite as close as before to show the train just behind her until it moves into fram before cutting to black.

This scene effectively portrays the story Cobb is telling in the background as the scene plays out. He explains that he and his wife were trapped in this dream state for many years, and Mal had let this dream state become her reality. The top was Mal's "totem," an item that she could use at any moment to test whether or not she was in a dream or real life. By locking her totem away, Mal had chosen to forget that she was only dreaming. Once Cobb realized his wife had reached the point of no return, he deemed it was no longer safe for them to live this way. In order for them to wake up, they needed to die in this dream state (thus the part where they lay on train tracks and yell back and forth to each other until they are run over).