If you’re like me (and, really, who isn’t?), then you absolutely loved David Mitchell’s novel Cloud Atlas. It was a dazzling, kaleidoscopic treasure-box of a novel that lingers in your memory long after you finish it.
It’s not a book that at once struck me as remotely filmable. First of all, it’s six different stories, told in six completely different writing styles. Next, there’s the book’s odd, nesting, Russian-Doll-like structure. Finally, there’s the unavoidable fact that it’s a challenging book. The novel’s riches require a bit of patience and focus from the reader. It’s not exactly a beach novel.
I can’t believe anyone would put up a pile of money to film such an odd book. But I guess when you are the creative force behind the $1.6 billion Matrix franchise, you can get the suits to cough up some dough.
This book feels about as unfilmable as Kurt Vonnegut’s legendary time-travel odyssey Slaughter-House Five. And that makes sense, because that’s the film that Cloud Atlas most reminds me of. I was shocked at what a beautiful and coherent film director George Roy Hill made of Vonneguts’s book, and I am happy to report I am quite happy to report that, despite all expectations, Cloud Atlas, the film, is a splendid and worthy work.
To tackle the six stories, Lena and Andy Wachowski have joined forces with the uber-talented German director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). The Wachowskis directed three of the stories, and Tykwer the other three.
The interconnected stories concern: 1) an ailing doctor trying to survive a long sea voyage back to San Francisco, 2) a disreputable young composer trying to advance his ambitions by assisting a retired legend, 3) a crusading reporter tries to uncover a scandal at a nuclear power plant, 4) a cynical publisher on the lam from thugs, 5) a Korean clone gets swept up in a violent revolution and 6) survivors of civilization’s collapse attempt to call for help from off-world colonies.
To help reinforce what, in the novel, are subtle connections between the stories, the directors have cast familiar and not-so-familiar actors in a dizzying array of roles. And before you raise your hand and refer to the idiotic “controversy’ regarding some Caucasian actors playing Asian roles, please note that in this ensemble piece men play women, women play men, white and black play Asian, Asian plays white, etc. It’s all over the map.
The filmmakers also wisely ditched the shells-within-shells structure of the took to tell all six stories at the same time. This, naturally, also helps you understand the resonance and connections between the stories.
While this all may seem a bit too ambitious for their own good, the fact is, the three directors pull off something rather miraculous. Just as when you read the book, you’re not quite sure what everything is about, but it’s never less than fascinating for a minute. Its puzzle-like structure actually invites multiple viewings. What is the story trying to tell us? Is it about reincarnation? Fate? Revolution? Maybe it’s about all of those things.
Just as the novel provided author David Mitchell a great showcase to show off six very different writing styles, the film allows the directors to simply go crazy with film genres. There’s 19th century seafaring adventure, melancholy period drama, crackling 1970s thriller, modern situation comedy, high-tech futuristic action, and post-apocalypse survival. The remarkable thing is that every sequence is effective and vivid. Rather than getting annoyed with all the jumping around between stories, it’s thrilling to watch each develop and approach their climax at the same time.
It’s also a gas to watch Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Susan Sarandon (Oscar winners all), Hugh Grant, Keith David, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Hugo Weaving, Ben Wishaw, James D’Arcy, and many others showing up in a stupifyingly diverse range of roles.
It’s also fun to simply sit there and connect the dots. Watch how many times the number 6 is woven into the story, for instance. And the concept of falling. And slavery.
Does it add up to a masterpiece? Only time will tell if we consider it that, but even if it isn’t, Cloud Atlas is a gloriously entertaining heap of a movie that no one should miss.
