A Masterclass in story telling, art directing, editing, and acting.

Rating: 10/10 (27 June 2016)

Cloud Atlas is an ambitious work of art unlike anything before it in terms of scope and diversity. Spanning three hundred years and locations around the globe, it weaves a perfect tapestry of interconnected stories that build upon the simple themes of choice and change. This would be impressive enough if Cloud Atlas took a straightforward approach to telling this story and told it in several chronological chunks. But the controversial editing of Cloud Atlas reveals the directors and editors understand the strengths of what film can do best. The edits are linked by one specific thing, focusing on an actor, an action, a point in the story, and the film weaves a web of interconnected moments or ideas that make for a beautiful tapestry of a film that washes over you in a way that takes effort to follow, but never is artless or obscure. The other masterstroke of Cloud Atlas that plays perfectly into filmmaking is the way the production uses its actors. In each story, the same actors are put into different roles, sometimes being heroes, sometimes villains, sometimes main roles and some are mere cameos. But the brilliance behind this is that it keeps the film canny and easy to stay invested in. As the shifts in character are mesmerizing, and the film leads to several 'Aha!' moments when you recognize an actor who has completely transformed from one role to the next. The film is also brilliantly paced. While you may think a three-hour run time is excessive, the strength of having six intertwined stories, is that they can have concurrent climaxes, battle scenes, or escape scenes, leaving you fully invested in stories that constantly thrill and will make you want to re-watch the film again and again to see if you missed anything. A film as brilliant, as complex, and as well-made as Cloud Atlas is a rarity, and it's excellence will need time and a great deal of effort to be surpassed. Is the film flawless? No. There are little nitpicks to the film that can be addressed. The mystery section is perhaps the least interesting and most formulaic, and some of the philosophy of the film around spirituality and love may be wearisome for some people. But you would be hard pressed to find a better cinematic experience than Cloud Atlas, it is quite simply, one of the best films out there.