Cloud Atlas (2012)
"An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution."
- IMDB
I first watched Cloud Atlas around the time it came out. I was a high school student who enjoyed fun movies, but I have since developed a deeper appreciation for film as an artform. When I first watched the movie, I disliked it. I found it very long, boring, and confusing. I decided to revisit the film to see if, 10 years later, if I had a different opinion. Yes, it is long. But now I understand it, and even enjoy it.
First of all, the cast - Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Ben Whishaw, James D'arcy, Jim Sturgess, Bae Doona, Hugo Weaving, and many others. Of course Tom Hanks stole the show. Several different characters, several different sets of prosthetics, several different voices and accents - Tom Hanks fans, watch this movie. He is such a pleasure to watch. Also, Hugo Weaving was basically unrecognizable in some parts. And I mean to say, he played a couple characters and I didn't realize it was him until I looked at the cast. Highly disappointed nobody was even considered for an Oscar nomination here.
What I appreciate the most is the concept. Cloud Atlas has a very unique form of nonlinear storytelling in that it grapples with the idea of reincarnation. All 6 stories take place in 6 different time periods, including 2 fictional future dystopians. Each story utilizes the same actors, thus it being an anthology of sorts. Yet there was a different main character in each. Like Tom Hanks was only the main character in the very very far future arc while Halle Berry played the main character in the 70s arc. And each story had it's own theme and and moral message to tell. On top of it all, the music was quite amazing.
I definitely think it would've done better as a 6-part mini anthology series, but I must say they did a good job telling 6 self-contained yet intertwined stories at once in this movie format. Of course it has its flaws, and not everyone will enjoy it, but it could've been worse. But because it was a movie and not a mini series, the film plays around with different story parallels within the 6 arcs. There were several scenes where a line or event in one story would transition perfectly to a scene from another story. Some characters or objects form a past story would show up with relevance in a future story. There were also several sequences when two or three arcs would be at a climax at the same time, so we kept going back and forth, adding to the intensity of whatever action was going on.
This isn't for a casual viewer at all. I could probably watch this a couple times more to fully analyze it. It would be a fun project, but I'm not gonna do it. Though I'd probably get something new every viewing if I did. I also heard this was a book, which could be an intriguing read. But if you're prepared to watch Cloud Atlas, bring lots of snacks and a fresh thinking cap and get ready for one heck of a story.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆