Cloud Atlas is a film about epic love that transcends time and space, and this love motivates the future and creates webs toward freedom. Directed by siblings Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, the film presents six stories with little to no relationship. These stories are edited in a back and forth manner that may be frustrating for most audience members, but the film can a real treat for the daring viewer who doesn't mind doing some of the work.
The six stories all take place in various times and locations around the world. The first one takes place in the Pacific Ocean in 1849, in which Adam Ewing (Jim Sturgess) is heading back to California following a business trip and helps a stowaway slave (David Gyasi) find freedom. Then, in 1936's Great Britain, Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw) becomes an amanuensis to an aging composer (Jim Broadbent), but Frobisher's bisexuality and notorious past may get in the way of their professional relationship. Fast forward to San Francisco, 1973, where journalist Luisa Rey (Halle Berry) discovers a plot to cause a disaster regarding the city's new nuclear reactor, but further investigation may cost her life. Then, in present day England, book publisher Timothy Cavendish (also Jim Broadbent) gets tricked by his brother into staying in a prison-like nursing home. Further in the future, in Neo-Seoul, 2144, Sonmi-451 (Donna Bae) is a cloned waitress, who escapes her captors to become a revolutionary leader. The last story takes place in Hawaii, 106 years after "the Fall" of civilization, where primitive tribesman Zachry (Tom Hanks) helps technologically advanced Meronym (also Halle Berry) send a message to outer space.
It is clear that this is an eclectic and peculiar combination of narratives. The stories and genres they represent aren't overly inventive. The Luisa Rey story is a straight up journalistic thriller, and the Neo-Seoul scenes practically borrows the mise-en-scène from every futuristic sci-fi movie in the last 20 years. Cavendish's ordeal's is a light-hearted escape narrative reminiscent of films like The Great Escape (or more appropriately, Chicken Run). None of these films are genre redefining, but what makes them engaging are the thematic and dramatic connections that are interlaced in the stories.
It's at these moments that the film makes its most dramatic punches. There are some beautiful and poetic montages that link the stories together, and it's through these moments that make the film watchable. I found myself pretty quickly losing interest in making concrete connections and started watching the movie like I was reading a poem. I looked for repeating words and themes, and that may be the best way to approach a film this big.
Let me tell you, this is a big film. Not only is it a daunting 172 minutes, but the worlds created felt real and fully conceptualized. The city of Neo-Seoul is expansive, menacing, and futuristic, while the filmmakers' San Francisco looks straight out of the '70's, albeit an exaggerated version of it. Because each location and era is so distinct, the transitions weren't as jarring as I thought they would be. I had a good footing with every transition. The filmmakers had a rough task to make the film seem fundamentally coherent, and they were effective in doing so.
Because of the directorial collaboration, they were able to get a large, star-studded cast, and they got their use out of them. Each actor performs a different character in almost every story line, regardless of race or gender, with the help of make-up. It's pretty unnecessary, and at times, detracting . Hugo Weaving portrays a deadly assassin during the Luisa Rey story line, and then plays a brutal, female nurse in the modern day story. There are some really great performances that come out of the movie, particularly from Whishaw, Broadbent, and Bae. The film's most prominent stars are Halle Berry and Tom Hanks, as they show up in every story line. Berry does a good job with her performances, but Hanks is utterly annoying in the film. He works too hard with every role, creating distracting accents for each one.There was a particular moment in the film when Hanks' overacting and his awful make-up made the audience chuckle. The only time his acting made sense was during his main story line when he portrayed Zachry, but the problem with that story line is that everyone talks in a new slang and it's almost impossible to tell what anyone is saying.
I don't think I've seen an audience so divided in a film. I watched numerous couples leaving the theater within the first 45 minutes, while at times I heard people clap and cheer at various points. I found myself not once being bored with the film. The film works at a brisk pace, and when one story reaches its climax and begins to fall, it shifts to another story. All this shifting can drive a viewer crazy. I found myself getting frustrated because I was getting into one story, then I was being transported to another. Still, the film can be admired for its grand aspirations. While the Wachowski siblings and Tykwer are both remembered because of one film, they are noticeable for their risk taking, even if the results aren't always on the mark, like with Cloud Atlas. If you're a fan of The Tree of Life or The Fountain, then I think Cloud Atlas is something worth checking out (although, I feel like the end quality is more on par with the latter and not the former). If you're unfamiliar with either film, then I would just cautiously recommend the film. It is more than amazing when it hits the mark, but also crashes and burns more than it falls flat. Yet, I see Cloud Atlas as a film that will be widely studied and dissected in classrooms in the years to come.
