Cloudy with a Chance of Karma

Rating: 7/10 (27 October 2012)

This film is mildly recommended.
" I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together." - I Am a Walrus by the Beatles
Based on David Mitchell's popular novel, Cloud Atlas was given the full big budget Hollywood treatment. With a production team that creates many eye-popping visuals and its all-cast international cast ( Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Hugh Grant, and Susan Sarandon are joined by Donna Bae, Keith David, Ben Whitshaw, Jim Sturgess, and James D'Arcy. ), the film seems to have high hopes and an even high pedigree. Directed and written by Tom Tykwer ( Run Lola Run ) and the Matrix Trilogy creators, Andy and Lana Wachowski, Cloud Atlas is a intriguing mystical journey, a messy but noble effort that is worth viewing.
Six stories become one in this sci-fi fantasy epic. The ambitious filmmakers tackle a difficult book that interweaves its varied tales with time-tripping details and enough style to disguise the black hole of a script whose characters, plots, and decades collide on a phantasmagoric journey about destiny, fate, and the question of our own existence in the vast cosmos called life. All those heady topics ( good versus evil, life after death, reincarnation, karma, and existentialism ) are explored and regurgitated ad nauseam. It's heavy thinking, dude, with a heavier sleight of hand at work. No wonder the film is nearly three hours long.
Visually, Cloud Atlas is a stunner, a thrilling spectacle filled with some wonderful action sequences. But for the most part, its screenplay remains inert, never building to a satisfying emotional or intellectual finish. ( I have to confess that I did unintentionally laugh a bit in the apocalyptic portion of the film where the ludicrous dialog with its rhythmic inflections kept reminding me of Barbara Billingsley's jive talk from Airplane. Sorry, but it really did! ) The stories try to unite the unending theme of oneness and our inability to control our own outcomes as the film takes on metaphysical proportions with the numerous characters involved, their wardrobe changes, and their specific situations.
We time-travel through different eras with decidedly mixed results: a slave ship adventure in the late 1800's, a 1930's love story involving two composers, an 70's China Syndrome action thriller about corruption and power, a present-day comic tale of revenge, a futuristic Blade Runner influenced parable set in Korea, and an end of the world precautionary tale that seemed to reuse the macramé wardrobe from Waterworld. This anthology structure of individual sub-plots that co-mingle with past, present, and future events may have intrigued the reader of the written page, but this film adaptation becomes a bit pretentious and labored with much dependent upon the moviegoer's level of believability and personal interest. Due to that factor, some of the time passages are more effective than others. ( Personally, the story lines that were 20th century bound resonated with me while the post millennium story lines were boring and bland. )
The directors may have saved some costs with their actors playing multiple roles in various ethnicities, genders, and races, but the overall effect in the execution suffers from that decision. While the majority of the make-up tricks are remarkable, other attempts fell short, particularly with Grant's old man disguise, Weaving's female Nurse Ratchet character transformation, and some of Sturgess' and Weaving's caked-on Asian make-up. ( In fact, most of the make-up for the Caucasian-turned-Korean roles were glaring missteps. ) This artistic choice weakened the film's impact as one continually guesses the true identity of the actor beneath the make-up instead of being drawn totally into the film's dense narrative. Another flaw is the choppy non-linear editing from one story to the next, a device which continually inter-cuts the action and tension of that individual segment.
Filmmakers Tykwer and the Wachowskis may have had their heads in the clouds while trying to rein in this demanding novel to align with their creative visions, but, at least, their vivid imaginations allow others to see the book come to life. Cloud Atlas is an unique movie-going experience, a visual treat that entertains in bombastic ways. Unfortunately, its plot structure and words ultimately undermine the film's strong imagery.
Although the thematic element of our oneness with the universe is a sound concept, the film seems to struggle to keep its patchwork stories cohesively together. To sum up my feelings about Cloud Atlas, it is best to quote the Beatles yet again: " The magical mystery tour is waiting to take you away...Goo goo g'joob. " GRADE: B-
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NOTE: Does anyone remember a little known 1960's whodunit called The List of the Adrian Messenger, a mystery film directed by John Huston? The film's main gimmick, similar to Cloud Atlas, was its attempt to disguise its cast with various make-up applications. Behind the prosthetic layers were famous actors like Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Burt Lancaster, and Kirk Douglas. That too had its share of hits and misses.