A film that dares to go as high as possible, and almost sticks the landing perfectly.
86/100
Original Release: 2012
Director: The Wachowskis & Tom Tyker
Cast: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Bae Doo-na
Favourite Quote:
“Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others. Past and present. And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.”
Favourite Shot:
One of the most challenging and loaded questions we face as humans on this earth is whether what we do, as small individuals in an infinite world that is infinite years old, matters. It is a question that can at times both free us and cage us in and coming up with an answer can impact our lives immensely. Cloud Atlas is a film that deals with this enormous topic as well as many others like it. It is a film with a grand scope in its themes as well as its visuals and storytelling. It is a film that dares to reach heights other films are afraid to even look at. And it is a film that ultimately succeeds and fails in its attempts. But to even attempt such an ambitious project makes it a film that everyone must see.
Cloud Atlas is based on the popular book of the same name by David Mitchell, and it is directed by the Wachowskis and Tom Tyker (Run Lola Run). The film is set around six different stories which span time between the 19th century and a distant post-apocalyptic future. Both the Wachowskis and Tyker had an input in all six stories but Tyker mainly worked on three and the Wachowskis worked on the other three.
All six stories are their own film. They all have separate genres and subgenres. Separate characters. Separate styles. But they’re all connected through ideas and through actors. The main actors of the film are present through almost each story, playing characters of various age, gender and race. And they share ideas of fate, love and how the smallest of decisions can ripple throughout time and space.
The Wachowskis and Tyker’s decision to have the same actors play characters of different races is a controversial one. And it is one that definitely could’ve been handled better (perhaps not making the main cast predominantly white), but the idea is an important one. The idea that we are all a part of the human race and at the end of the day just souls inside a body. And who knows if a soul could be reborn as someone of a different race?
The film begins with an old Tom Hanks with tattoos on his face speaking in front of a fire. We have no idea who he is, where he is or who he is speaking to, but immediately, through the music and the many unknowns, we are left with an atmosphere of mystery and intrigue. It’s almost as if we’re sitting down with an old friend around a campfire, ready for them to tell us an epic story.
From here we see glimpses of all six of the stories. And from then on we are amongst it completely. Each of the six stories are told continuously and at the same time. We will be in one for a while before we are transported into another and so on. The filmmakers use framing shots to seamlessly transition between the stories. For example in one story the narrator may be saying something about a door, and then a door will appear on screen but it will be from a different story. The point being that these stories are all connected to each other in one way or another, and that a lot of the time storytelling is the things that connect us.
The earliest story is a historical drama set in the 19th century about American lawyer Adam Ewing’s (Jim Sturgess) journey home from the Chatham islands. On the boat ride he is treated by Dr Henry Goose (Hanks) who believes he has a parasite, and also helps a stowaway slave get a job on the boat.
The second story, set in 1936, is a star crossed romance concerning British composer Robert Frobisher (Ben Winshaw), his love affair with Rufus Sixsmith (James D’arcy) and his time working with aging composer Vyvyan Ayrs (Jim Broadbent) in which he created ‘The Cloud Atlas Sextet’.
The third story is a political thriller set in San Francisco, 1973 and follows journalist Luisa Rey (Halle Berry) and her investigation of Lloyd Brooks’ (Hugh Grant) who is in charge of a nuclear reactor conspiracy which could threaten the world.
The fourth story is a comedic farce based in London 2012, about the book publisher Timothy Cavendish (Broadbent) who finds himself on the run from gangsters. Timothy asks his brother (Grant) for help only to be tricked into signing into a nursing home essentially trapping himself inside.
The fifth story is a Sci-fi/dystopian future film set in 2144 Soul and is about Sonmi-451 (Doona Bae), a ‘fabricant’ (humanoid clone) that works for humans as a fast food worker and sex worker. She and rebel commander Hae-Joo Chang (Sturgess) attempt to free the fabricants from the humans.
The last story is a post-apocalyptic film set in Hawaii 2321 about Zachry Bailey (Hanks) who lives on the island with his tribe. He is visited by Meronym (Berry), a member of an advanced society dying from a plague, and is searching for a communication tower on the island to send an SOS to off-world humans.
All six stories are connected somehow literally. Frobishier reads Ewing’s journal, Rey reads Frobishier’s letters to Sixsmith, Cavendish reads a manuscript about Rey’s investigation, Sonmi watches a film version of Cavendish’s story and Bailey’s tribe worships Sonmi because of her revolutionary confessions. Each story impacts the next. What one person does in the 19th century unknowingly affects a person in 2321.
The decisions we make, the lives we live have impacts on everything. And this is further illustrated through the use of the same actors over each story. One soul travels throughout time appearing as a villain in one story and a hero in another. But essentially remaining the same.
The Wachowskis and Tyker’s decision to have the same actors play characters of different races is a controversial one. And it is one that definitely could’ve been handled better (perhaps not making the main cast predominantly white), but the idea is an important one. The idea that we are all a part of the human race and at the end of the day just souls inside a body. And who knows if a soul could be reborn as someone of a different race?
All six stories are entertaining and interesting to watch. Admittedly some do get sidelined for stronger ones (the stronger ones mainly being the two sci-fi segments) and there doesn’t seem to be enough time to give them all the weight they deserve. The directors do a great job at making the stories flow all together, but there are inevitably times that it gets messy. Going from genre to genre and story to story, it’s hard to not be taken out of the film by the, at times, abrupt changes in tones.
But it is such an ambitious film, that in theory shouldn’t work, and the fact that it does work as well as it does is a testament to the directors and gives you a film truly unlike any other. They easily could have been crushed by the pressure and weight of the film and got lazy with one or two of the stories, but they don’t. You can feel the passion and love put into the film in every frame, and it makes the viewing experience so much better.
The ending of the film is phenomenal. They somehow manage to stick the landing with every story, tying every one of them up in a neat bow (something you get used to with the Wachowskis). And as you sense each one coming to a close a sense of dread fills you up as you realise this epic film is about to end. In each one a choice of love has to be made, and in each one love prevails.
And what the film is ultimately about is perfectly summed up with a final scene in the Adam Ewing story in which Hugo Weaving’s character tells him that “No matter what you do it will never amount to anything more than a single drop in a limitless ocean.” To which Ewing replies: “What is an ocean but a multitude of drops?”
It is such an emotional moment that we get to witness as we are in the middle of the chaos that is the ending of each of these storylines. And it really gets into the heart of what the film is trying to say. The film is chaotic and messy and large and epic, and so is life. But to make your decisions and to live your life choosing love as much as you can is something we can all do. And no matter how little it may seem, the ripples across the universe are huge.
Cloud Atlas is a huge, ambitious film that dares to try and be unlike anything before it. It is definitely a flawed film, but for a film that shouldn’t work, it works a whole lot more than it doesn’t.
Read the Cloud Atlas interview with critic CJ Sheu here.
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