People have been endlessly arguing about whether the top would stop spinning and if that's the real world or just a dream. People argue about it as if there's an actual answer. But there is no answer. Nolan ended the movie that way just to get people to argue about it. The whole point was to get people to argue about it.
shareYup, and that's what I hated about it. It was smug, pretentious, and cynical. Great movie, terrible final twenty seconds. It's that close to sticking the ending. I remember watching it in the theatre and the whole audience groaned. It felt like a rip-off.
At best, the filmmakers genuinely felt like this was deep, but that doesn't make it much better.
It's actually a misdirect. The audience is focused on the top, while Cobb for once is not. He did not care anymore. Dream or not, he was with his kids and never looked back to see if it toppled.
shareThis isn't true.
There's a clear cut ending and it's not up for debate.
It isn't a dream. The movie makes it explicitly clear that in a dream, you never remember how you arrive somewhere.
In the final sequence, it shows every step of the journey. Him flying on the plane, him at the airport walking to customs' desk, him checking in with customs, him walking away from customs, him meeting the guy outside the terminal, and then him arriving at his house and seeing his kids.
And just in case you still didn't know, the top can be heard wobbling during the credits.