Cloud Atlas Movie Review

Cloud Atlas (2012)

Rent Cloud Atlas on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: David Mitchell (novel), Lana Wachowski & Tom Tykwer & Lilly Wachowski (written for the screen by), Chris Lindsay (additional material)
Directed by: Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
Starring: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Bae Doona, Ben Whishaw, Keith David, James D'Arcy, Susan Sarandon,
Rated: R
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Plot
An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.

Verdict
Movies have done multiple timelines and intersecting timelines, but this adds a reoccurring human element throughout, a reincarnation of spirit as technology improves and eventually signals a demise human emotions of love, greed, and aspiration persist. The world and certain inhabitants are forever linked, meeting across eras. Struggles of class and ethics repeat. That's the scope of this movie, and it's certainly ambitious refusing to hold the viewer's hand. Confusing at first, the stories cleverly unfold, each era inherently unique and engaging. This movie gets better with every passing moment as all the pieces intertwine perfectly. It's an incredible achievement.
Watch It.

Review
I first watched this nearly ten years ago, and my feelings on the movie are the same if not stronger now with a fresh watch. On the first watch this completely exceeded my expectations. This is an incredible movie. It's difficult to do this much and do it right. Plenty of movies nowhere near this ambitious fail with just one story. Despite the various eras and stories, the focus quickly becomes clear. Even before you know what this is and how everything relates each story engages.

The first watch can be tough as we see multiple settings in just a few minutes. The movie only notes the time and location at the very first scene. This doesn't hold your hand. On a second watch, at least you have an idea of what you're jumping into. Eventually you'll realize there are six different eras (Pacific Islands 1849, Cambridge 1963, San Francisco 1973, London 2012, Neo Seoul 2144, Big Island 2321) that explore relationships among people and humankind as well as intersections across centuries.

Halle Berry and Hugh Grant play Luisa Rey and Lloyd Hooks

While it can be a bit confusing initially, almost intentionally, this starts to come together soon. From the start each story is engaging, though it doesn't hurt to keep a running character list. It's fun to see actors' appearances transform across the plot lines. Some of the transformation are quite drastic.

These stories cover ego and the acts to preserve such, art, love, and control. It's ambitious, pushing the viewer by giving them a lot to follow. While this gives us snippets at a time, each segment begins to intertwine with similar themes, flowing from one into another.The first segment of each story follows chronologically with the rest of the scenes organized for maximum impact. Actions mirror across the eras as one story transitions to another.

Hugh Grant plays Kona Chief

Halle Berry and Tom Hanks play Meronym and Zachry

The implication is that these characters in different eras are connected across the centuries. People begin, end, and begin again. Having already seen this once, there's a lot of connections to make across the eras. The editing does a great job of weaving the stories together. I'm not sure it could be done any better as dialog and themes overlap. I really like the Valley speak in the far future world. It juxtaposes certain words that are familiar to still sounds primitive.
The characters in different times seem to mirror each other with subtle similarities. Greed and control persist across eras even as technology advances. Events from the past influence the future either directly or indirectly. This movie is rich, full of connections. Many I missed the first time around, granted that was a while ago.

The characters across the eras seem to have a shared knowledge which indicates reincarnation or some version of it. Characters have dreams of other eras. That and the same actors play different characters across the centuries. This movie never comments directly on that, leaving it up to the viewer.

Jim Broadbent and Tom Hanks play Timothy Cavendish and Dermot Hoggins

Any one of those stories seems fit for a movie, but this condenses it into six stories for one long movie. I'm not sure we'd see something like this today. Fantasy and sci-fi stories are now more likely to be made into a series on a streaming network instead of cramming it into a couple of hours. The way this paces each story and finds the perfect intersection from one scene to another with the action or dialog flowing right into the next segment impresses.

Despite spanning 450 years, things don't change that much across eras. People are greedy and those in power want to subjugate those without it. Some people are destined to be together, to meet, and intersect. The main character in each era is imprisoned or restrained in some form. Even the comedic story of Cavendish is an escape from prison.
They're prisoners of greed, love, or class. Yet throughout it's the persistence of the human spirit to fight and reveal truth that manages to find a better conclusion. Humans will always oppose each other. It doesn't matter whether technology is primitive or advanced.