Cloud Atlas
Story is actually six floors, divided into different eras of time (the mid-19th century, the early 1930s, the mid 1970s, 2012, the future, and a more distant future). In each of these stories, we meet various characters (played by the same ensemble of actors) whose lives, experiences and legacies repercussions throughout the past and future through artistic connective threads like music, writing or film footage, forming life, fate and even the fate of world, in some cases. As each story progresses along the arc, a web of cosmic significance slowly into view, reminds us that our lives are not only our own, and our connections with others understood or not much more expensive than we might know.
Cloud Atlas is a unique blockbuster movie experience which nevertheless need to be experienced. The movie delivers all what most other films manage to deliver on any front-comedy, romance, drama, horror, spectacular in itse exciting journey from the beginning to the Grand finish, punctuated by some amazing performances brought to life through the help of amazing makeup and special effects work.
The script (written by the Wachowskis and Tykwer) drops you right into the thick of things, opening with a grizzled looking Tom Hanks to tell a story that quickly breaks into separate vignettes, with the main characters in each story setting the stage for the respective stories, before slowing down in longer sequences listed in each epoch. Then we slip between different sequence of important transitions witnessed a moment of triumph in a story, even if we are faced with a moment of fear or tragedy in another. The scriptwriters take what was, by many accounts one, a unadaptable novel and manages to deftly convey the whole story in full depth. And while some segments are indeed interesting than others, there is little that feels strange, unnecessary, or (worst of all) boring.
Cloud Atlas offers the attentive viewer a fun time picking out all the different versions of the same actor sometimes as an actor, sometimes just background face provides much humor and food for thought on how these reincarnated figures intended to be understood thematically.
Performances are strong in the movie, with nary a weak link contained in the ensemble. Tom Hanks delivers both scene-chewing and subtly layered performances in various roles, Halle Berry is pretty much the ethereal spirit it is intended, glides effortlessly from race-to-race, gender-to-gender, as a spiritual chameleon . Jim Broadbent (Harry Potter 6) steals the screen when hes on it, and gives a lot of movies comic relief, Doona Bae is a breakout artist whose haunting presence and stare will stick with you long after the film ends.
Hugh Grant and Hugo Weaving is appalling and disgusting as the two demons that infect each epoch, while the acclaimed British Thespians of James Darcy (Master and Commander), Ben Whishaw (Skyfall) and Jim Sturgess (The Way Back) inject humanity and gravity into some of the more central roles in the story. Im just scratching the surface here: Actors like Keith David, Zhou Xun, David Gyasi and Susan Sarandon are just a few of the extra players who are visible and there for strong supporting roles.
On the leading edge: The Wachowskis (who direct the 19th century and futuristic segments) are back after their dubious Speed Racer adaptation and their partnering forms Tykwer (who helmed the 1930, '70 and 2012 segments) is a game created by the same cosmic design of the film describes. Cloud Atlas is a huge undertaking, and the executive team manages to create six separate films, each feeling as a quality all their own compositions, but still function as a coherent whole. Again, some segments showed better than others, but each of them feel unique, vibrant, and perfectly in line with the respective genres they draw from (classical period pieces, contemporary meta comedy, sci-fi fantasy, dystopian drama).
The thinnest segment is probably the 1970 story, which at times feels like a kitschy riff on the era, rather than an actual representation of this period in the film, but nevertheless provides some compelling sequences , and is intelligently controlled to limited screen time. Neo Seoul and dystopian after the fall of the segments is fantastic realized, and help to remind us that the Wachowskis are actually top-tier visionary when it comes to thought-provoking sci-fi film.
Tykwer surprises in a different way, bringing genuine humor and heart to those segments that do not benefit from the aid of grand plays. The 21st Century segment (Jim Broadbent as bumbling publisher Timothy Cavendish) plays as an elderly, comic version of One Flew The Cuckoos Nest, and is an exuberant good time all its own. Quite an achievement when the same story is set against, say, a futuristic action spectacle featuring several chase scenes and shootouts.
While not everyone will embrace the overarching theme of spirituality and reincarnation, which connects the threads in Cloud Atlas together, there is still so much rich material in the tapestry to offer something for almost everyone - regardless of who they are, where they're from or what their personal beliefs and values. As stated at the beginning: This is a unique blockbuster experience and is the type of bold choices film making as (in my opinion) deserves to be applauded if for no other reason than the ambitious intention to say something more about life and experience.
Best of all, concerning the journey to the destination of almost all emotion possible while simultaneously challenging both the mind and the eye with big ideas and small stroke of detail. If there ever was a film that really engaged the viewer At almost three hours, it starts to wear on you as it comes down the final stretch, but the payoff at the end is valuable and amazing
Cloud Atlas
