Commendable adaptation

Rating: 8/10 (25 March 2013)

Having read the book, I was on familiar grounds from the start and could probably better appreciate the movie's qualities than spectators who had to adapt to the storytelling concept 'from scratch'. That being said, having read the book also lowered my expectations somewhat, since no movie can ever rival a book for such things as, e.g., philosophical reflection or character development - and this is particularly true for a novel such as Cloud Atlas.
There is some "dumbing down" of the book's message. The book reflects on the nature of Man, and on how mankind's strengths and weaknesses bring about a never-ending ebb and flow of civilizations that, despite their apparent differences, are built on similar patterns of power and control. The movie translates this into how people exist for and through others, in their time but also in the past and future. The book also introduced connections between protagonists (the birthmark, elements of a storyline mentioned in other ones) so the movie's message, though over-simplified, is adequate. The same can be said about the other liberties the directors took with respect to the novel - they can be understood in the light of the target audience (broader for a movie than for a novel) and the medium. Only the Frobisher story, one of my favorite in the book, badly betrays the novel, making Frobisher's suicide seem pointless. Then again, the epistolary style of the corresponding book part and Frobisher's bittersweet reflections are not easily translated into film...
Apart from that, the adaptation of this reportedly unadaptable novel is commendable. The directors' choice of interweaving the story lines deviates from the novel but works very well, with neat visual analogies between plots. Clearly, lots of thought has gone into the subdivision and alignment of story lines, giving the movie a very polished feel. The actors are perfect and the makeups are an impressive achievement (some of the Male/Female-Caucasian/Asian morphs look weird but are still quite believable). The entire movie is very beautiful and atmospheric; the Matrix-inspired action sequences (mainly in the Sonmi subplot) and comic relief (Cavendish subplot) are not overdone as I feared they would be.
All in all, a great (if not perfect) adaptation of a difficult book. After all, taking liberties also shows you've understood the work and gives the reader-viewers food for thought!