In terms of scope and ambition, there has never been anything like “Cloud Atlas”. I literally mean nothing in the history of cinema. The film takes the template of a sprawling Robert Altman character piece where many seemingly unrelated character’s stories are told simultaneously and then takes it several steps further by mixing in time periods and genres. The result is a challenging, near-3 hour epic that strives for being about everything all at once. “Cloud Atlas” nearly succeeds on all fronts making for a thoroughly modern film that deserves to be seen.
The fact that we are now capable of processing a film structured like this must come from generations brought up channel surfing. “Cloud Atlas” is based on an equally ambitious 2004 novel by David Mitchell that presents 6 stories spanning many centuries. There are physical connections between the stories (a journal that tells one of the stories is read by a character in the next, a movie based on one story is viewed by a character in the next) as well as metaphysical ones (these are really the same entities that are tied together for eternity). Many of the actors portray characters in each story, sometimes even changing genders. These stories are interwoven in such a way as to bounce from tale to tale at almost random. The experience is exhilarating.
The six stories:
1- It is 1850 and a young notary named Adam Ewing (Jim Sturgess) makes the acquaintance of a Dr. Henry Goose (Tom Hanks). As the two make passage home on a ship, the Dr. convinces Adam that he suffers from a phantom illness. The Dr. then slowly poisons the man with hopes to steal all he has brought aboard the vessel.
2- We meet Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw), a talented musician in Zedelghem, Belgium circa 1936. The poor and desperate lad finds work as an assistant to an aging composer who looks to steal Robert’s masterwork entitled “Cloud Atlas Sextet”.
3- Luisa Rey (Halle Berry) is an investigative journalist who is about to uncover a dangerous conspiracy involving the new nuclear power plant just outside of San Francisco. It is 1973 and much that goes on here feels like something found in good, old Steve McQueen movie.
4- The story of Timothy Cavendish (Jim Broadbent) is told in the modern day. Timothy is publisher that specializes in trash novels. It is this specialty that gets him in trouble with some vile folk and Timothy goes to his reluctant brother, Denholme (Hugh Grant) for help. The brother has his own issues with ruddy Timothy and our hero is placed in a repressive nursing home against his will. Escape is the only answer.
5- Now we get into some intense genre mixing with the fable of Sonmi-451 (Doona Bae), a clone in the 22nd century whose only purpose is to sling food at Papa Song’s. This is a world where they engineer the workforce and then discard them when they are no longer needed. Sonmi begins to question the order of things and is used as symbol for revolution
6- Now we are way, deep in the future and all has been lost. Meronym (Berry), a member of the last of our technically advanced ancestors, visits a small band of primitives. Valleysman Zachry (Hanks) leads the visitor to a forbidden place in the mountains to find a key that will allow the human race to survive.
“Cloud Atlas” is the collaboration of three filmmakers and the structure used to produce the film is very fitting. Lana and Andy Wachowski (“The Matrix” Trilogy) filmed segments 1, 5 and 6 (the ones set in the future, naturally) while Tom Tykwer (“Run Lola Run”) handled the rest. The thrill of ingesting the film (one does not simply “watch”) comes from how seamless the stories meld together. The two teams made their sections simultaneously but the tone and feel is consistent throughout. Each story is both individual and part of the whole. I found it thrilling to shift from modern day comedy to industrial thriller to sci-fi action film and only a handful of these transitions felt forced.
But what will be a virtue for some, I fear will be a deterrent for others. I will not be surprised if the film has trouble finding an audience. This is a huge leap from what the masses are used too. Also, I think it is important that the viewer be a fan of many flavors of film as an eclectic taste in cinema will make “Cloud Atlas” go down sweet. Not only that, but there are themes touching on reincarnation and the afterlife that may challenge some viewers beliefs. I hope this is not the case.
With “Cloud Atlas,” the Wachowskis have created their best film to date. The heavy handed philosophy that came across as preachy and mind numbing in “The Matrix” Trilogy is toned down here. There are big ideas but this is a big movie what can contain them.