Rated
R (Violence, Language, Sexuality/Nudity and Some Drug Use)
Running
Time: 2 Hours & 52 Minutes
Cast-
Tom
Hanks-
- Dr. Henry Goose
- Hotel Manager
- Isaac Sachs
- Dermot Hoggins
- Cavendish Look-a-Like Actor
- Zachry
Halle
Berry-
- Native Woman
- Jocasta Ayrs
- Luisa Rey
- Indian Party Guest
- Ovid
- Meronym
Jim
Broadbent-
- Captain Molyneux
- Vyvyan Ayrs
- Timothy Cavendish
- Korean Musician
- Prescient 2
Hugo
Weaving-
- Haskell Moore
- Tadeusz Kesselring
- Bill Smoke
- Nurse Noakes
- Boardman Mephi
- Old Georgie
Jim
Sturgess-
- Adam Ewing
- Poor Hotel Guest
- Megan's Dad
- Highlander
- Hae-Joo Chang
- Adam/Zachry Brother-in-Law
Doona
Bae-
- Tilda
- Megan's Mom
- Mexican Woman
- Sonmi-451
- Sonmi-351
- Sonmi Prostitute
Ben
Whishaw-
- Cabin Boy
- Robert Frobisher
- Store Clerk
- Georgette
- Tribesman
Keith
David-
- Kupaka
- Joe Napier
- General An-Kor Apis
- Prescient
James
D'Arcy-
- Young Rufus Sixsmith
- Old Rufus Sixsmith
- Nurse James
- Archivist
Zhou
Xun-
- Talbot
- Hotel Manager
- Yoona-939
- Rose
David
Gyasi-
- Autua
- Lester Rey
- Duophsyte
Susan
Sarandon-
- Madame Horrox
- Older Ursula
- Yusouf Suleiman
- Abbess
Hugh
Grant-
- Reverend Giles Horrox
- Hotel Heavy
- Lloyd Hooks
- Denholme Cavendish
- Seer Rhee
- Kona Chief
Directed
by Lana and Andy Wachowski, with Tom Tykwer
 |
| Tom Hanks and Halle Berry lead an all-star ensemble cast in "Cloud Atlas," a bold, ambitious film whose narrative spans across time and space. |
The
best films are almost always the most polarizing. When director Stanley Kubrick
released his 1968 magnum opus "2001: A Space Odyssey," reaction from
critics ranged from ecstatic praise to vehement derision. During its premiere, 241
people walked out of the theater. Among them was actor Rock Hudson, who
declared as he was leaving, 'Will someone tell me what the hell this is about?'
Writer Arthur C. Clarke once remarked that 'if you understand 2001 completely, we failed. We wanted to
raise far more questions than we answered.' Forty-four years later, "2001:
A Space Odyssey" is widely considered to be one of the best films ever made and its influence on the filmmaking
community continues to be felt even today. Likewise, Ridley Scott's "Blade
Runner" initially received mixed reviews and flopped at the box office
when it was released during the summer of 1982 but has since become a cult
classic thanks to its distinct visual style. Zack Snyder's 2009 adaptation of
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' critically-acclaimed DC Comics graphic novel
"Watchmen" also divided critics and now you can add "Cloud
Atlas" into the mix. Directed by Lana (formerly Larry) and Andy Wachowski
with Tom Tykwer, "Cloud Atlas" is based on David Mitchell's 2004
novel of the same name. Like the aforementioned "Watchmen,"
Mitchell's novel was considered by many to be 'unfilmable' due to the nested
structure of its six stories but that hasn't deterred Tykwer and the
Wachowski's from taking up such a challenge and the result is a bold, ambitious
film that transcends genres to celebrate the spirituality of the human condition.
For nearly three hours, "Cloud Atlas" will transport viewers on a
journey that touches upon every emotion imaginable. This is a beautiful and
visionary work of art that demonstrates, as Roger Ebert put it so eloquently,
'the magical, dreamlike qualities of the cinema.'
Six interlocking stories are
weaved together into a single narrative: in 1850, a young lawyer named Adam
Ewing (Jim Sturgess) contracts a debilitating disease, leaving him trapped in
the hold of the ship Prophetess as it
sails toward San Francisco, where his wife Tilda (Doona Bae) eagerly awaits his
return. Adam is cared for by a shifty doctor named Henry Goose (Tom Hanks) and
befriends Autua (David Gyasi), a warrior from the Chatham Islands' Moriori
tribe. In 1931, Englishman Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw) leaves his lover
Rufus Sixsmith (James D'Arcy) after spending the night together to pursue his
dream of becoming a famous musician. He manages to find employment as an
amanuensis to a well-known Scottish composer named Vyvyan Ayrs (Jim Broadbent).
Four decades later in 1975, a rookie journalist named Luisa Rey (Halle Berry)
learns that the new nuclear power plant in Buenas Yerbas, California is unsafe.
To prevent the news from becoming public, Seaboard Corporation's CEO Lloyd
Hooks (Hugh Grant) sends an assassin, Bill Smoke (Hugo Weaving), to silence
her. In the present day, Timothy Cavendish (Jim Broadbent), a 65-year-old
vanity press publisher based in the UK, is forced to flee from the nephews of
his gangster client but instead finds himself trapped in a nursing home against
his will. Hundreds of years later in the mid-22nd century, a
genetically-engineered 'fabricant' named Sonmi-451 (Doona Bae) rebels against
the totalitarian regime that controls New Seoul when she is saved by a freedom
fighter named Hae-Joo Chang (Jim Sturgess). Finally, in a post-apocalyptic
future, tribesman Zachry (Tom Hanks) is forced to confront his beliefs when he
is visited by Meronym (Halle Berry), a member of a technology-advanced
civilization that is slowly dying out due to a deadly plague.
I have to say
that I was left utterly speechless when the end credits began to roll for
"Cloud Atlas." Adapting David Mitchell's novel is certainly a ballsy
move and apparently, the financial risk was so great that no major studio agreed to put up the money. Despite bearing the
Warner Brothers logo, the studio is only distributing the film in North America
and the estimated $100 million production budget instead came from a variety of
German sources, making it one of the
most expensive independent films of all time. For Tykwer and the Wachowski's to
get that kind of funding while working outside the Hollywood system shows just
how passionate they were about the project and that passion is clearly evident
on every frame. The directors wisely do not follow the structure of the novel,
which presented each of the six stories in chronological order before 'going
back in time' and ending where it all began with Adam Ewing's tale. It points
to the cyclical nature of death and rebirth but using the same structure in a
film would prove to be unwieldy, not to mention that Ewing's segment is also
the weakest out of the six. Instead the directors/writers quickly introduce
each tale through a quick vignette, beginning with an elderly Zachry narrating.
The film then settles into developing each segment but is unafraid to cut back
and forth.
The way "Cloud Atlas" is edited enhances the themes of the
film, where aspects of the human condition and the choices that we make
transcends not only race and gender but also time and space. To emphasize each
story's connection to one another, certain narrative passages are read as
voiceovers for others. When Robert Frobisher narrates his letters to his lover
Rufus Sixsmith, the scene then cuts to Luisa Rey reading the same letters.
Sonmi-451 watches a film titled The
Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish, which is actually an exaggerated
dramatization of the real Cavendish's
attempt to escape from the Aurora House nursing home. In many ways, the
characters are all faced with a yearning thirst for freedom and are trapped,
whether literally or metaphorically. Adam Ewing befriends Autua, a slave that
has stowed aboard the Prophetess.
Later, Ewing is trapped in the bowels of the ship while the greedy Henry Goose slowly
poisons him. Robert Frobisher is forced to keep his homosexuality a secret even
as he tries to find a way to escape from the manipulative Vyvyan Ayrs and
complete his Cloud Atlas Sextet,
which also serves as the film's musical leitmotif. Luisa Rey's investigation
emphasizes the increasing power that faceless corporations wield, a theme which
is revisited during Sonmi-451's segment, where clones are used to perform
mundane tasks and are then processed to be fed back to the clones themselves,
creating a never-ending cycle. Timothy Cavendish is trapped in a nursing home
that is lorded over by the Nurse Ratchet-like Noakes. Lastly, Zachry is haunted
by a Satan-like figure called 'Old Georgie,' which prevents him from saving his
brother-in-law from the cannibalistic Kona. What's really amazing is all the
emotional beats that "Cloud Atlas" manages to hit on, including
several laugh-out-loud moments that keep it from being too self-serious. Much
of this comic relief stems from Cavendish's bumbling attempts to escape from
the nursing home. The ending is especially cathartic and points to the enduring
power of love and karma. It suggests that our lives have more cosmic
significance than we are led to believe.
This is one of the most beautiful
films I've seen this year and the attention to detail in every frame is just
astounding. The dystopian and post-apocalyptic segments are particularly
striking, one a blend of anime, "Blade Runner," and "The Fifth
Element" while the other is more "Mad Max" and "Planet of
the Apes." Composed by Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek, and Tykwer himself,
the score is incredibly moving and listening to it creates a wave of emotions,
even when it stands apart from the film. The make-up work is phenomenal and one
of the more fun aspects is trying to spot the dozen primary actors in their various
incarnations. Some appear as majors characters in one segment while as an extra
in another. The end credits were a delight to watch as I was consistently
surprised to see this actor was that character and vice versa.
Unfortunately, there has been some controversy with having white actors made up
to look Asian, with some accusing the film as encouraging 'Yellow-face.' As an
Asian, I was not offended because the film was in no way stereotyping Asians.
Not to mention, Doona Bae pops up as a Mexican and British woman in other
segments. To call "Cloud Atlas" racist means that you missed the
point of the film because the obstacles that all the characters face are
color-blind and transcend such artificial boundaries.
Tykwer and the
Wachowski's have gathered an impressive ensemble cast led by Tom Hanks and
Halle Berry. Chewing the scenery as well as bringing a measure of depth to his
various performances, Hanks excels in all of his roles, whether as the
foul-mouthed gangster Dermot Hoggins or the conflicted tribesman Zachry. However,
the make-up applied on Hanks in some of the stories is blatantly obvious even
if it's sometimes deliberately played up for humor. Berry slips into and out of
her characters with ease while Jim Broadbent steals every scene he's in with
hilarious effect. Out of the entire cast, Doona Bae proves to be the standout
as the clone Sonmi-451, her haunting and sympathetic performance lends her
story a humanity that just isn't as strong compared to the other segments. Hugo
Weaving pops up as the villain in all six stories and is almost unrecognizable
in drag as Nurse Noakes. Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, and James D'Arcy all excel
as well, with nary a weak link found.
"Cloud Atlas" was released on
October 26, 2012 to mixed reviews (not surprising) with 62% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Critics noted that the 'sprawling, ambitious blend of thought-provoking
narrative and eye-catching visuals will prove too unwieldy for some, but the
sheer size and scope of [the film] are all but impossible to ignore.' Despite
the applause that the audience gave during an advance screening this past
Wednesday, my fears about its box office potential have unfortunately become
true as it is set to gross only a mere $10 million over the weekend. This is
disheartening but also points to the fact that despite their cries for
originality, mainstream audiences will never shell out money for a film that
doesn't have an easily digestible premise. While I understand that a film's
appeal will always be subjective, it still makes me a little angry when I see
something like "Taken 2" earn $50 million whereas "Cloud
Atlas" will be lucky to even make that same amount in its entire run. So please, if you care about
cinema at all, see "Cloud Atlas." It's an experience that honestly
has no equal and is the type of bold filmmaking that audiences should foster. For me, this has already
landed on the list of best films of 2012.
Final
Rating: 5 out of 5
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