If your brain works, and you like to use it, this movie is just what you've been looking for

Rating: 10/10 (20 October 2016)

How does someone even BEGIN to look at CLOUD ATLAS? It's the only movie of its kind. Nobody has EVER tried to do what the Wachowskis did here. And that, of course, attracts me immediately.
But how do I review it?
Let me tell you a story. The sensation I felt at the climax of the film surpasses everything else about it. Looking back, I can say, what the movie is, to me, is the construction of a rope.
A rope is not a single thread. Instead, it is several threads woven together, to strengthen the overall might of the rope itself. By itself, a single strand could break, but bound with others, a rope gains strength, depending on the might of the summation of its strands instead of the durability of one.
This is CLOUD ATLAS.
I realized this the first time I saw the film. Each of the stories presented has a feel, and, moments in each of the stories has a parallel with the other ones, creating a narrative that, by themselves could be construed as confusing or uneven.
But if you surrender to the flow of the film, you can feel the river of time that guides each story, and recognize the patterns that, like Louisa (Halle Berry) says in the film, repeat themselves over and over. And each thread draws closer and closer to the point where they all come together, and create the rope that is more than just the summation of the plot, but also a reflection of life itself.
When Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw) explains to Sixsmith (James D'Arcy) that boundaries are illusions, as a speak-over that ties all six stories together, I sincerely felt that time itself was nothing more than an illusion. This feeling perpetuated itself BEYOND the boundaries of the movie theater I was in, and for a moment I felt enlightenment I haven't felt in a long time when encountering a piece of art It felt that all six tales were happening simultaneously, that all of the stories were moving at the same time, even though the characters were different. It's a feeling I cannot expect everyone to share But it's what I felt. That time really is an illusion. And it's because time IS an illusion that it keeps repeating itself, over and over, again and again.
Nobody delivers a bad performance here. In truth, the actor that deserves the most credit here is Tom Hanks, and not just because he is one of the finest actors to walk the planet. No, it's because his character, beyond all others, transitions from antagonist to protagonist through the scale of the movie. That, at one point, he is the villain, and, by the end, he is the hero. It suggests that, even though time may be an illusion, that progression is not. That all of us are heroes and villains. That everyone is everything, at one time or another.
Even Hugo Weaving, who plays a villain through most of it, has a moment where he is merely a character (the critic that visits Vivian Ayers house, or Boardman Mephi, in future Tokyo, who seems to me as less of a villain than just a man who chooses not to fight the system).
Also, I have to give a shout out to Mr. Hugh Grant, who performs amazingly here. I didn't even realize it was him when I first saw him, and his ability as an actor shines here. It is a shame he should be punished for being human when he has such incredible talent.
All in all, this is a movie that requires your brain. It requires multiple viewings. It requires you to think outside the box. If you cannot do that, don't bother. If you want everything spelled out for you, I suggest you steer clear. This one's not for you.
But if you want to see one of the most beautiful, original, creative, amazing pieces of art ever put to the silver screen, and can handle the concept of not being able to understand everything on the first shot, this movie is definitely for you. In my humble opinion, EVERYONE should see it, even if you find that you hate it. It is at least worthy of a viewing, regardless.