Review #845 - Cloud Atlas (2012)
THE
SCOOP
Director: Tom Tykwer, Andy &
Lana Wachowski
Cast: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh
Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, Zhou
Xun, Susan Sarandon
Plot: An exploration of how the actions
of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one
soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across
centuries to inspire a revolution.
Genre: Drama / Sci-Fi
Awards: Nom. for 1 Golden Globe - Best
Original Score
Runtime: 172min
Rating: M18 for
violence, language, sexuality/nudity and some drug use.
IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)
“We cross and re-cross our old paths
like figure-skaters.”
Every
moviegoer is bound to be curious about Cloud Atlas. It lasts nearly
three hours, has a restrictive M18 rating, and stars an ensemble cast
spearheaded by Tom Hanks and Halle Berry. It is also a huge Hollywood
production with a budget that it may recoup, but unlikely to make a profit on.
It
is also the most ambitious film of 2012, and while it is a mammoth undertaking,
it is a project that has translated rather well from text to screen. Based on
the novel by David Mitchell, the screen version of Cloud
Atlas disregards
the book structure of having the six stories told in a specific order, turning
it into one massive tale with six interwoven narratives.
Of
course, the medium of film allows that luxury of parallel editing where the
stories occur as if they subscribe to the theory of alternate universes. The
filmmakers have done quite an impressive job making sure that audiences won’t
be confused by the inter-cutting of the narratives.
However,
it can be very easy to get confused if you don’t pay attention to the
characters. Hanks and Berry play six different characters in the film. The rest
of the cast play in between three to seven characters. Your head will be messed
up trying to figure out who’s playing who. Don’t bother trying. Just have a
general understanding of the kinds of characters that adorn each narrative. It
will come clear to you during the end credits, which you ought to stay for.
The
Wachowskis (The Matrix, 1999) and
Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, 1998) have
delivered a fairly entertaining film despite its lengthy runtime. There are
moments of genuine promise, but they don’t quite reach the heights of the best
of cinema this year. The inter-cutting of narratives can be both pleasurable
and frustrating, though thankfully not always at the same time.
The
payoff is not exactly satisfying, but all the narratives achieve sufficient
closure. In any case, Cloud
Atlas just
doesn’t seem thought-provoking enough. The filmmakers challenge us with their
visuals and production design, but the film’s socio-political themes while
plainly obvious are given little room to be explored.
Cloud
Atlas is certainly
ambitious, not only in terms of its cinematic structure, vision, and execution,
but of its exploration of universal themes of life and death, love and hate,
and hope and loss. These themes literally transcend across time and space,
giving an epic scope that unfortunately feels disconnecting. In other words,
the film is an excellent case of the sum being much less than its parts.
Mick
LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle calls the film a “dance of good and evil
over time” despite its weaknesses. See it for its scope, not for its impact. Or
it could be fun to play the ‘Can you spot Hugo Weaving?’ game.
Verdict: This
multi-narrative epic is ambitious and admirable, but the payoff is not exactly
satisfying.
GRADE: B- (7/10 or 3 stars)
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