Connect with Cloud Atlas

Rating: 10/10 (1 November 2012)

"Cloud Atlas" is humanity. And there is no singular answer for humanity's emotions and actions. Directors Tom Twyker, and Lana and Andy Wachowski understand that nugget of knowledge so profoundly that many critics have mistaken this honest exploration of human nature for pretension. If you don't initially understand this film, it is not because its creators are pretentious. It's because this film does not seek to answer questions, but leave you with them. Questions you, perhaps, have not even thought to reflect upon and questions you certainly should not be able to find answers for with ease. Take what you will from this film. It lays forth a cornucopia of offerings.
Following the stories of six characters, "Cloud Atlas" delicately weaves what could have easily been six clashing narratives into a gorgeous cinematic tapestry. Not one story feels like a superfluous thread, for without one, this tapestry could not be sewn. This is not six stories passing in the night; this is one story that happens to be told across six separate timelines. Twyker and the Wachowskis have done the seemingly impossible, blending six genres into one cohesive category that defies definition.
The best part of this grandiose tale is that it does what the best cinema should: it asks you to participate. In this case, you are invited to find yourself in this grand scheme of connections. With such a diverse cast of characters, all personalities reside within this film: I'm a Rufus Sixsmith myself; I've known a Robert Frobisher; I've been lucky enough to run across those who will become Adam Ewings, Luisa Reys and Sonmi 451s; multiple Autuas have picked me up when I'm down; I've had the misfortune of crossing paths with Dr. Gooses and Old Georgies; I've even been so lucky as to hear the predictions of an Abbess. You are not simply watching this film, you are a participant.
One will find themselves so easily entwined with these characters thanks to the film's incredible cast, not one member of whom lets this picture down. Advertised as the lead, Tom Hanks is given some of the most varied characters and does something audiences never expected of him; he plays bad quite good. Three of his six characters are deliciously rotten, and Hanks sinks his acting chops right into the roles, just as much as he does for his assigned heroes. Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, Xun Zhou, James D'Arcy and Doona Bae (famous in her home country, but a true revelation stateside that will have audiences begging her to sit and stay awhile) all leave equally huge impacts, while Susan Sarandon, Keith David, Hugh Grant and David Gyasi leave their marks in subtler, but no less powerful, ways. You will want to spend more than three hours with every single character.
This is also due in part to the film's make-up design, creating the illusion of a cast triple the actual size: Halle Berry hides away as a male Korean doctor, a White Europen Jew, and a blink-and-you'll-miss-it island native; Doona Bae spouts out lines in Spanish and English as if she's been speaking both for years; Hugo Weaving plays a menacing female nurse straight out of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"; these examples are just an appetizer of the aforementioned cast members and, indeed, the cast as a whole. Every actor present joins in the fun, giving the film a secondary puzzle of Where's (Insert Actor's Name Here)? that runs parallel to (and strengthens) its reincarnation theme.
With the impressive investment from cast and crew to explore such an intriguing concept that will be one of those everlasting questions of humanity, it is a shame that critics and audiences alike laughed at the make-up as if it was done by children, criticized the character acting as if it has ended the careers of all involved and dismissed the supposedly lofty ideas as arrogant drivel. Like similar grand films that "Cloud Atlas" is in league with ("2001: A Space Odyssey," "Citizen Kane" and even "The Wizard of Oz"), I have little doubt that this movie has the potential to be industry-changing and will one day be seen as a benchmark in cinema history (hopefully not as the last film of its kind). No studio today would dare to be so experimental with their storytelling, and they weren't, with Twyker and the Wachowskis raising funds from independent sources. Much like the film's character, Luisa Rey, who suspects that a new technology has been setup to fail so big corporations may continue business as usual, I would not be surprised if a few critics were reimbursed to label this film with that cursed word, "pretentious," turning away potential audience members with an accusation all-to-easy to make on what is a thought-provoking narrative in the company of only a handful of peers in our era of cinema.
Three hours, in the scheme of your life, is not a lot to give, especially for such an exhilarating roller coaster as this film, the likes of which you will likely not see for quite some time, if ever, should "Cloud Atlas" fail at the box office. The film will, I fear, become a victim of its own ideas, lost amongst thoughtless, studio-mandated movies that are simply easier for casual filmgoers to choose because they don't ask us to question one thing about who we are and how we live our lives. We have become the customers of Sonmi's Papa Song in 2144 Neo Seoul, not giving a second thought to the entertainment that is served to us. But recall, "Cloud Atlas" asks for our participation! You can be Sonmi 451, Adam Ewing, and Luisa Rey. Wake-up to realize that art and entertainment can, and should, be one, and that this entertainment can belong to us as much as to those who made it. We, the audience, are Adam Ewing's multitude of drops that will build a new ocean of cinema.