A refreshing movie that breaks new ground

Rating: 9/10 (9 May 2013)

Cloud Atlas is an interesting and unusual film.
It's disconcerting to watch at first, because you're not sure what it is you are watching. A love story? A period piece? It kept jumping between timelines, so it took my mind a while to work out what was going on. You also see the same actors playing different roles and this threw me too. I thought they were the same person, though eventually I realized they were entirely different characters. Once I understood what was going on I was able to enjoy three long but never boring hours.
I haven't seen anything like Cloud Atlas.
It jumps between six timelines telling six different but intertwined stories separated across sometimes vast gulfs of time. I could easily describe what the movie is now, but I think it's more fun if you discover it for yourself. It isn't perfect and parts of it could have been better done, but I am very glad to have watched it. It's not a movie that dumbs itself down for the viewer. It's rich, intelligent and thought-provoking.
Most actors play multiple roles in this film. They are all good, and Tom Hanks in particular is outstanding. Too many established actors get lazy and fill their bank account by playing the same role over and over, so it's great to see Hanks break new ground to deliver a deep performance I wouldn't have otherwise thought he was capable of. Korean Actress Doona Bae too is wonderful. So too were Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, Keith David, James D'Arcy and Hugo Weaving. Even Hugh Grant. Yes, Hugh Grant.
For the most part the editing works well. We never get bored, and a distressing scene in one timeline is balanced by a lighter scene in another.
Professional critics didn't condemn Cloud Atlas but didn't praise it either. I think it's different and it wasn't the usual 'tick the box' review they are so used to. e.g. 'This is a good cop movie. 3 stars' 'This is a really good cop movie. 4 stars.' Well to hell with them. Perhaps they can think and earn their salaries for a change.
It's a triumph Cloud Atlas even got made. The major studios wouldn't back it, so it was produced and financed independently. There were three different units filming at once. The movie was moderately successful at the box office, though I'm not sure it has yet broken even. But it's got all the makings of a timeless cult classic so with its video release I'm sure in time it will come to be appreciated. Credit too goes to Hanks who even though only an actor here, spurred on the producers and cast to get it made despite the continual setbacks. Some of the other actors too were told by their agents the producers didn't have the money to pay them, but they got on their planes and did it anyway. Far from the usual paint-by-numbers formula movie making, this was a labor of love.
Cloud Atlas isn't without its flaws. A wider audience would have slid into the movie far more comfortably if they better explained we were watching multiple timelines and that the same actors were playing entirely different characters. Better editing would have removed some of the confusion, and the birthmark was silly.
The worst part of the movie is the very poor 'Yellowface' make-up. Some Caucasians are made up to look like Asians, but it is unconvincing and distracting. They don't look, move or talk like Asians. If you've spent time in Asia you'll know what I'm talking about. Obviously the producers don't. I don't think the producers were being racist when they did this, but I don't think it worked either. At they knew to stay away from 'Blackface.'
It's an emotionally intense three hours covering many characters. My favorite was Tom Hank's Zachry in the last time period. I loved the way he the others communicated in a dialect that was both futuristic and yet very easy for the audience to follow. "That's fair buy. True-true?" (trans. "I think I've got a point.") Some professional critics complained about this. What do they expect? That in a thousand years people will still speak North American dialect as today? Talk about laziness and a lack of imagination.
The movie delivers as happy an ending as is possible for such a long and heart-wrenching journey.
I'd like a break from remakes. We need more brave movies like this that show us something new. Kudos to all involved.