Chix Chat on Film Review: Reincarnation hyper experience.

Rating: 9/10 (27 October 2012)

The trailer for Cloud Atlas gave me the impression that this film was an eternal love story played out through reincarnation. Since my favorite reincarnation love story is Dead Again, I was curious to see if this story would be similar and if it would measure up to my expectations. With Tom Hanks and Halle Berry in the lead roles my expectations were high since they typically play in movies that I consider to be remarkable. I was not disappointed. This was not simply a recurring tragic or fulfilled love story, this film was nothing less than remarkable. I mentally segmented the film into three parts. The first part of the film was almost dizzying with the meandering from different points in the past, then to the future and then back to the past. During this first segment we see a menagerie of characters most of which are played by Mr. Hanks and Ms. Berry. A number of times I had to do a double take to be sure of who was playing a specific role, it was much more difficult to recognize Ms. Berry especially in her role as a medical practitioner, Mr. Hanks was always recognizable, but the makeup in all instances was transformative. I have seen characters in films that have been made up as older than they actually are but to see actors made up and actually look authentic as a different race is again remarkable. I would be remiss not to mention the special effects so I will say that the appearance of Neo Seoul was impressive, saying it makes me think of music, I digress. The action and the realization of who everyone truly is in the grand scale of good versus evil is revealed in the second hour, this segment is where most of the aforementioned special effects are delivered. The final hour of the film is where all things culminate and then understanding takes hold. I could talk about all the fine actors who have recurring roles of importance throughout time in this film, but I would spend all my time identifying who they are as portrayed by the actors, which does nothing to underscore how powerful this story is. I believe that any experience that allows for anyone to think in a different way presents growth. That is what Cloud Atlas represents, the very possibility that some causes are so monumental and so significant that they require more than one lifetime to resolve is just remarkable. I give a green light.