Motifs in Thrillers
A motif is a reoccurring element which has symbolic significance to the film itself. Motifs help the audience to develop an understanding of the narrative and theme of the film, in the film inception (July 8th 2010 - directed by Christopher Nolan) I have found two motifs which we are reminded about throughout the film.
The first motif which reoccurs throughout the film is the totem (spinning top). The idea behind this totem is that it allows Leonardo DiCaprio to know whether he is in a dream world or a reality - if the totem falls he's in a reality, but if it never topples over he's in a dream world. This motif is constantly used to create suspense when Leonardo is trying to find out whether he's in a reality or not, due to the time consuming process of waiting for a totem to fall, this builds up tension for the audience to finally come to the conclusion of reality or dream world.
Another motif I found interesting which is used in inception is the use of safes (with secret combinations). Safes are used three times in inception with Saito's safe, the wife's safe and the millionaires safe, this constant reminder of secret combinations is a subliminal moral to the story. Specific combinations represent the exact steps which are necessary to succeed in their mission, even if they fail to get one digit correct they have to start the whole mission again.
Example of totem and safe in Inception:
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