{"id":2375,"date":"2012-10-30T09:39:38","date_gmt":"2012-10-30T16:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com.php5-21.dfw1-1.websitetestlink.com\/wordpress\/?p=2375"},"modified":"2012-10-30T09:39:38","modified_gmt":"2012-10-30T16:39:38","slug":"cloud-atlas-film-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com\/wordpress\/cloud-atlas-film-review\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"rss\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>

\u00a0If you\u2019re like me (and, really, who isn\u2019t?), then you absolutely loved David Mitchell\u2019s novel Cloud Atlas<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 It was a dazzling, kaleidoscopic treasure-box of a novel that lingers in your memory long after you finish it.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0It\u2019s not a book that at once struck me as remotely filmable.\u00a0 First of all, it\u2019s six different stories, told in six completely different writing styles.\u00a0 Next, there\u2019s the book\u2019s odd, nesting, Russian-Doll-like structure.\u00a0 Finally, there\u2019s the unavoidable fact that it\u2019s a challenging book.\u00a0 The novel\u2019s riches require a bit of patience and focus from the reader.\u00a0 It\u2019s not exactly a beach novel.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I can\u2019t believe anyone would put up a pile of money to film such an odd book.\u00a0 But I guess when you are the creative force behind the $1.6 billion Matrix<\/em><\/strong> franchise, you can get the suits to cough up some dough.<\/p>\n

\u00a0This book feels about as unfilmable as Kurt Vonnegut\u2019s legendary time-travel odyssey Slaughter-House Five<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 And that makes sense, because that\u2019s the film that Cloud Atlas <\/em><\/strong>most reminds me of.\u00a0 I was shocked at what a beautiful and coherent film director George Roy Hill made of Vonneguts\u2019s book, and I am happy to report I am quite happy to report that, despite all expectations, Cloud Atlas<\/em><\/strong>, the film, is a splendid and worthy work.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/a>To tackle the six stories, Lena and Andy Wachowski have joined forces with the uber-talented German director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run<\/em><\/strong>).\u00a0 The Wachowskis directed three of the stories, and Tykwer the other three.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The interconnected stories concern:\u00a0 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\u2019s collapse attempt to call for help from off-world colonies.<\/p>\n

\u00a0To 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.\u00a0 And before you raise your hand and refer to the idiotic \u201ccontroversy\u2019 regarding some Caucasian actors playing Asian roles, please note that in this ensemble piece men play women, women play men, white and \u00a0black play Asian, Asian plays white, etc.\u00a0 It\u2019s all over the map.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The filmmakers also wisely ditched the shells-within-shells structure of the took to tell all six stories at the same time.\u00a0 This, naturally, also helps you understand the resonance and connections between the stories.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0While this all may seem a bit too ambitious for their own good, the fact is, the three directors pull off something rather miraculous.\u00a0 Just as when you read the book, you\u2019re not quite<\/em> sure what everything is about, but it\u2019s never less than fascinating for a minute.\u00a0 Its puzzle-like structure actually invites multiple viewings.\u00a0 What is the story trying to tell us?\u00a0 Is it about reincarnation?\u00a0 Fate? Revolution?\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s about all of those things.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Just 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.\u00a0 There\u2019s 19th century seafaring adventure, melancholy period drama, crackling 1970s thriller, modern situation comedy, high-tech futuristic action, and post-apocalypse survival.\u00a0 The remarkable thing is that every sequence is effective and vivid.\u00a0 Rather than getting annoyed with all the jumping around between stories, it\u2019s thrilling to watch each develop and approach their climax at the same time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/a>It\u2019s 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\u2019Arcy, and many others showing up in a stupifyingly diverse range of roles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0It\u2019s also fun to simply sit there and connect the dots.\u00a0 Watch how many times the number 6 is woven into the story, for instance.\u00a0 And the concept of falling.\u00a0 And slavery.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Does it add up to a masterpiece?\u00a0 Only time will tell if we consider it that, but even if it isn\u2019t, Cloud Atlas<\/em><\/strong> is a gloriously entertaining heap of a movie that no one should miss.<\/p>\n

Average Rating: 4.7<\/span> out of 5<\/span> based on 241<\/span> user reviews.<\/span><\/div><\/p>

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