JOPLIN, Mo. — Director Christopher Nolan has a fascination with the mind.

His first -- and arguably greatest -- film, “Memento,” deals with the intricacies of memory. “Insomnia” shows the effects that sleep deprivation and dealing with Robin Williams has on the brain. Even in “The Dark Knight,” he examines the idea of madness as an alternate sanity.

With his latest film, “Inception,” Nolan delves into the layers of the mind in regard to sleep and dreaming. I don’t know why he keeps returning to the mind as a recurring theme, but given the results, let’s hope that he keeps exploring these issues.

“Inception” is a tricky film to describe; it’s densely plotted and layered. If I gave too many details, I would either spoil parts of the film or confuse you. It is a complicated story about a complicated subject, yet it is handled masterfully by its creator.

The gist of the plot is this: Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) plays what amounts to a dream thief, hired to enter the subconscious of victims in order to extract important information. Yet Cobb has spent so much time in the dream world that he cannot always tell the difference between dream and reality.

Cobb has immersed himself in the world of dreams partially because of the loss of his wife. He is accused of her death, and because of this cannot return to his children in the U.S. A man without a home and without family, he dwells in the subconscious minds of others to give definition to his life.

Cobb is presented with the opportunity to go home to his children, if he is willing to commit to one last job. This time, he is hired to plant an inception, or the germ of an idea, into the mind of Robert Fischer Jr (Cillian Murphy), the heir of a worldwide energy conglomerate.

Ellen Page plays Ariadne, the architect of the dreams, hired to design the world which the dreamer inhabits. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Arthur, Cobb’s longtime associate. They team with Yusuf (Dileep Rao), the chemist hired to keep them asleep, Eames (Tom Hardy), who can take the form of trusted loved ones in dreams, and Saito (Ken Watanabe), the man who hired them for the mission and tags along to make sure it is complete.

The acting is top notch. DiCaprio, an actor who has always been consistent but never that impressive to me, is finally starting to convince me that he is everything other critics say that he is. His measured performance dances around the edge of his emotional turmoil before finally falling in, pulling us along with him. His Cobb is a mess of a person, yet projects an air of confidence and togetherness that belies his true fragility.

Page is a bit underused, but still strong. She is as close to a moral center as the film gets, concerning herself about Cobb’s mental state while also watching over the team. Gordon-Levitt continues to prove that he is capable of the big screen. Even Tom Berenger, whose career has been gradually sliding down to straight to DVD fair, pulls off a redemption of sorts as Browning, the trusted family friend of Fischer.

The film looks absolutely amazing. The effects are as groundbreaking as those of “The Matrix.” In one scene, a city literally folds in on itself. Nolan has a practiced eye for setting the scene and pacing the film, and even at its nearly 2:30 run time, not a shot feels wasted.

The whole concept of the film is mind-boggling to think about, with so many places for it to trip over itself or leave one inconsistency that could cause it to unravel. It is reported that Nolan initially pitched the idea in 2002, and has spent the past eight years bringing it to reality. It shows in the care and precision with which it is executed.

Like a game of Jenga, each piece of the film rests carefully atop another, and the slightest misplacement could cause it to collapse in upon itself. Yet Nolan’s steady hand guided each to its place to create a phenomenal looking whole.

With his original script and vision, he has crafted a film that not only catches interest, but leaves viewers talking days and probably even weeks later. Judging by the internet reaction, this is one that will stay in the forefront of movie discussions for awhile.

After what can only be described as a lackluster summer with a few small bright points, “Inception” has steamrolled its way into theaters and our collective consciousness. It is a fine steak dinner dropped in the middle of a season of fast food -- it should feel out of place, yet it is more satisfying than most anything else being offered.

A thinking man’s film, it takes work and careful attention to follow along, but it rewards that work with a satisfying experience and further cements Nolan’s growing reputation as one of the most skilled directors working today.

And if anyone would like to debate the ending, feel free to drop me a line.

Rethinking Affleck?

It has been one of my running jokes throughout the life of this column that I hold Ben Affleck in the utmost contempt. I’ve always considered him a no-talent hack with little charm who attached himself to his best friend and road his coattails to stardom and celebrity hookups.

I still hold that to be true, for the most part. However, after watching the trailer for “The Town,” a gritty looking crime drama, I may have to retract a bit of that.

I kind of assumed Affleck’s directorial debut, “Gone Baby Gone,” was a bit of a fluke; the exception that proved the rule. But Affleck once again steps behind the camera, and the results look intriguing at the very least.

So, I will lift the Ben Affleck rule and catch this one when it opens. I hope he doesn’t prove me wrong; I’d hate to have to start rethinking Ashton Kutcher, too.