Crumbling under its ambition, its misses are big but its hits are also big.

Rating: 7/10 (26 June 2013)

When I was a very young writer, the generation spanning saga was always an object of my naive ambition. Granted, it was soon abandoned when it seemed impossible and I imagine many young writers have the same idea at least once when they have an idea that never seems to end. I didn't realize the concept had actually been achieved to somewhat positive acclaim until I heard of this film. Regardless to say, I was intrigued. And my high expectations for Cloud Atlas didn't come from the people involved or the story/ies itself, but the ambition of the concept and the potential for true technical feat despite the love-or-hate it reputation the film was starting to gain. I had an open mind. What surprised me first was how the film is structured. It races through all the 6 stories at once, showing what seems like a 30 second to 2 minute segment of one story then cutting to the other. This rocket pace is really hard to follow at first (even if it offers the potential for clever parallels in transitions) and it begins to feel like there's about dozen stories but it soon becomes easier to digest once the first section, "The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewin" gets into the meat of its story.
The thing with a film like this with its ambition is that it's constantly building up to a grand conclusion and a grand purpose for all of it's 3 hour running time, which is really make-or- break if it doesn't live up to that every second of the way. I can completely understand why this is a love-or-hate film as it doesn't exactly deliver what it promises. Its weakest spots in the first act are very awkward to watch and this is mostly due to the hammy performances of Tom Hanks and Jim Broadbent ("The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish" is a real weak link in general) with make-up and costumes that are very hard to take seriously. I actually stopped watching the film 20 minutes in with no intention of continuing later but I decided to persevere and give it a chance just to have an opinion on the whole thing by taking the sillier moments as tongue-in-cheek humour. But when Cloud Atlas gets going, it is an absolute boulder of escalation. When momentum builds between several stories at once, it's pure involving cinema. Not necessarily original ideas, but a blend of genres and styles that creates something exhilarating. And just like a boulder, this momentum doesn't stop easily and takes up a good long stretch of the film. Even if I'm not clear on what's going on or not enjoying what is going on, it certainly keeps me engaged.
While the film struggles with creative payoffs to each story and relationship (even spoiling itself with a bizarre reference to a classic sci-fi film), the best payoffs are the end results of the parallels between the supposed "reincarnations" when the choice of recurring actors becomes very clear, essential and poignant. But what is the grand purpose of the film? In a film with seeming randomness but ostensible intention, there must be a point and the answer is that it's entirely political and about the evolving moral standards of society. It's about persecution of race, homosexuality and the elderly and then more vague ideas and criticisms on fuel consumption and generation and the pitfalls of capitalism and religion. Despite these bold intentions, it is very emotionally engaging, and that is due to the standout performances by Halle Berry (who is nomination worthy here), Ben Whishaw, James D'Arcy and Doona Bae, who bring a grace to their roles that is so desperately required rather than the needlessly animated attempts by Tom Hanks and Jim Broadbent, whereas Hugo Weaving, Hugh Grant and Jim Sturgess are more-or-less serviceable and only sometimes invisible.
Its technical feats are, like the stories and performances, hit-or-miss, the biggest hit of which is the rich and cinematic score, which is probably the film's finest achievement and guides us through the film better than the editing itself. The visual effects are okay, they're best when it's the vast landscapes of the last two stories rather than the action sequences where the characters don't appear to really belong in the scene. The costumes and makeup, while impressive for their variety, are much better when they're subtle. The first three stories are much superior to the last three, albeit much less ambitious. They're key to providing the 70s thriller atmosphere of perhaps the best story of the six, "Half Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery" (which must be on a par with "Letters from Zedelghem"). Otherwise many of the transformations are quite bizarre and look like spy disguises (particularly Doona Bae in the first story and Hugo Weaving in the last). Cloud Atlas is an interesting film, and unlike most viewers, I'm in the middle of the love-hate, as the only thing I actively dislike are half of Tom Hanks' characters but there's plenty to really like. It's not exactly art, but it's certainly got meaning and heart and is epic in every sense of the word.
7/10