Cloud Atlas is an ambitious film directed by the tripartite genius of the Wachowskis (The Matrix Trilogy) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). These directors set out to make a film that would defy the status quo of film-making, and they have brilliantly accomplished that.
The challenge of combining six movies into one with the same actors appearing as multiple characters is a daunting one, and it's by no means easy to sit through placidly. This film is meant to inspire and awe like a spectacle. And that's where the film has its problems. The movie itself is divided into three pieces: film, stage, and art. Cloud Atlas breaks several conventions to deliver something that would translate well on the big screen, which in my opinion it does splendidly, but for others it didn't. The gender- and ethnic-bending and story-switching is a lot to take in, but if one watches the movie as something that is beyond a movie, if one reflects on it as a film-stage-art hybrid, then I believe more people will enjoy the work.
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| A handful of the many characters in Cloud Atlas |
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It's unfortunate that the movie didn't connect with audiences, even with such an impressive cast attached (Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, Hugh Grant etc.), but I am optimistic that Cloud Atlas will go the way most under-appreciated movies go: cult fanaticism.
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| How can you not want to see Hugh Grant in this role? |
I highly recommend checking it out while it's still in theaters. Take your significant other. The screening won't have any of the obnoxious patrons that tend to ruin most other movies, so it'll be something special to behold in dark solitude. Keep an open mind, and don't let the run time daunt you because the movie is engrossing from start to finish.
The challenge of combining six movies into one with the same actors appearing as multiple characters is a daunting one, and it's by no means easy to sit through placidly. This film is meant to inspire and awe like a spectacle. And that's where the film has its problems. The movie itself is divided into three pieces: film, stage, and art. Cloud Atlas breaks several conventions to deliver something that would translate well on the big screen, which in my opinion it does splendidly, but for others it didn't. The gender- and ethnic-bending and story-switching is a lot to take in, but if one watches the movie as something that is beyond a movie, if one reflects on it as a film-stage-art hybrid, then I believe more people will enjoy the work.
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