Cloud Atlas

Rating: 8/10 (12 January 2013)

Never while watching a film, have I been so utterly perplexed. Even as the credits began to roll, my jaw was dropped, my eyes glued to the screen. What had I just witnessed? At that point, I wasn't sure, but I knew it was something glorious. And I knew I had missed a lot. After a second viewing, I was perhaps not so perplexed as I was the first time, but I was still dazzled by the effect of this colossal masterpiece. Is it the best film of the year? That, for now, I cannot answer, but it is certainly the most ambitious, the most expansive, and most breath taking. Peter Jackson, who is one of my favorite filmmakers able to make films so epic, they stop your heart for just a moment, is releasing the first installment of his Hobbit trilogy this December. Not that it won't be a good film, because it will be, but The Hobbit will float past you like the tiniest gust of wind after watching Cloud Atlas.
When reviewing the film, many critics said the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer were on a suicide mission even attempting to adapt such a novel as Cloud Atlas. They said the book was unaddaptable. I disagree. No piece of literature is unaddaptable, but some are harder than others. If you ask me, the filmmakers behind Cloud Atlas are brave and ambitious for doing what they did. Along the way, yes, there were a few errors and some small parts that could've been better, but do those things really even matter at this point? The fact that this movie was even made is a miracle. No filmmaker has done something this gutsy since David Lean directed Lawrence of Arabia back in 1962.
Most of the actors present in Cloud Atlas play nearly six parts, and are transformed through flawless make-up work, into people so different, we cannot even recognize who is who. The cast must take on different dialects, different tones, and even different personalities to make the film successful. It is particularly peculiar the way the cast fumbles through their narratives, as if they are trying to figure out what is happening just as much as you are. The film will puzzle you, it will intrigue you, and then it will floor you with its grand finale.
Honestly, I can't begin to think of a way this movie could've been panned by any critic. But sadly it was, one these panners being Kyle Smith, the man who enjoyed Jonah Hex. Based on its ambition alone, even if it didn't all work out in the end, and it does, I would have given this film at lest three stars. Maybe even two and a half if it totally flopped at the end, but it doesn't. The ending is glorious, pure cinematic joy. Cloud Atlas is an event that demands to be witnessed. Go and see it. It'll blow your mind.