6 Films In One!

Rating: 9/10 (27 February 2013)

Full review here: http://www.thewildbore.com/2013/02/review-cloud-atlas/
When I heard that the Wachowski's were coming back with a huge new film under some kind of pretence of it being a big budget 'indie' film, I was dubious. Was this them trying to get back some credibility? How can such a cast and a $100 million small fortune be deemed indie? In any case, I still felt that the Wachowski brothers (now brother and sister) haven't done a good film since The Matrix; they haven't done many since then but still. Remember also, they did not direct V For Vendetta, instead it was their Matrix 1st AD James McTeigue but I didn't really like that either. Co-director Tom Tykwer has had some very strange films made since Run Lola Run but does this collaboration work? It's one of the few films that puts three directors in equal standing for a movie. But then, it's not your average movie
So what of the 3 hour epic Cloud Atlas?
I have to be forthcoming and say that this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. Firstly, it has six simultaneous story lines and to begin with, this can be rather daunting. Flitting between characters in completely different time periods can seem confusing but the directors, and the clever editing, allow the viewer to never feel alone, they are confidently guiding you through the story and even when you think you're lost, you're safe in the knowledge that the people who have crafted this film know what they are doing. So you have to come at this with an open mind but also one that can juggle lots of information at the same time. If you want something you can sit back and zone out to, this won't be for you. This is mainly for the current generation of people who like to multi-task, listening to music with the TV on while surfing the internet and texting your mate. Watching Cloud Atlas is never boring, in fact it takes what looks like the best-of bits from each storyline and presents them in a linear fashion, it's like channel swapping with each channel being something different, but all part of the same whole.
The six stories are uniquely different. The earliest one takes place during the slave trade where a lawyer is travelling on a boat to get back home (period/history piece), then there is the young bisexual composer who writes the Cloud Atlas sextet (the romance story), a young journalist trying to uncover secrets of an evil nuclear company (70′s thriller), Broadbent with some other old timer mates in the present time (comedy), a future with a cyborg with a soul (sci-fi) and a post-apocalyptic tribal world where they are trying to reach the top of a mountain (action/adventure). If this sounds like an incomprehensible amazing mix of genres, then you would be correct. The fact that you're flying from one of these to the other might sound like a nightmare but instead it flows so smoothly, so naturally, that by the end of the film you feel like you have lived six different lifetimes.
Of course, the other reason this film flows so well is that the same actors play different parts in each storyline. This isn't some self-congratulatory showpiece of how diverse the actors are, but instead it's for the benefit of the story and a unique take on the book. There is a birthmark that continues throughout and is usually associated with ones who essentially change the story, it's attached to the real protagonist of each piece. But then each actor has an arc as the timeline continues.
Hanks goes from being a morally dubious fellow to a selfless shepherd, his path taking a positive step as time continues. Sturgess goes from reluctant hero to full on revolutionary, abolishing any kind of slavery (slavery and the idea of power being an overarching theme in the whole film). Ben Whishaw never really emerging from the shadows, his sextet however being his true legacy. Halle Berry rises up through the ranks to try and save humanity one step at a time, Broadbent goes from being an arrogant oaf to learning humility and becoming some kind of transient being and Doona Bae learns to fight for herself. For each positive transition there are also negative ones. Hugh Grant for instance remains evil throughout and ends as a cannibal warrior, Hugo Weaving goes from bad to worse (as Old Gregg lookalike Old Georgie) and seems to become the manifestation of pure evil. Of course there are other actors but these are the main ones and watching their journeys and thinking about them afterwards adds to the experience of Cloud Atlas. I can safely say it's the only 3 hour film that I would have been happy to watch again straight after it finished.
Full review here: http://www.thewildbore.com/2013/02/review-cloud-atlas/