Cloud Atlas

 Discarded by most as a simple overindulgence most will remember the adapted screenplay of Life Of Pi over the adaptation of Cloud Atlas, a book which is equally if not more audacious. After the dismal two predecessors to perhaps one of the action genres greatest assets, The Matrix, The Wachowski’s have certainly took upon an ambitious project hoping once again to reignite their cinematic flame. Seeking the help of ‘Run Lola Run’ director Tom Tykwer to aid in the production, Cloud Atlas follows the story arcs of several different people in several different time periods, exploring how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future. Pretentious as it may seem Cloud Atlas successfully manages to stimulate the audience with a story told with gentle hands, moulding the beautifully structured narrative to result in a cinematic spectacle just shy of perfection.

 Alike it’s lavish adapted counterpart of last year, Life of pi, Cloud Atlas’ most notable triumph is that of its fantastic storytelling and coinciding cinematography. To convert a seemingly ‘un-filmable’ book onto the big screen is a cumbersome task, especially whilst considering the novels multi-stranded narrative, yet none the less it’s a task which has been handled with such delicate care and evident attention to detail. Following a clone in an insidious utopian future one minute, then following a troubled  journalist in present day,  the narrative leaps and bounds across time and space quite literally and despite this frequent movement the film never proves to be tiresome constantly linking each narrative strand, carefully making sure it maintains the focus of the audience. On occasion some strands of the narrative show to be more or less interesting than another with the film sometimes being too wacky for its own good pushing the limits of your imagination a little too far tipping into laughable deliriousness as Hugo Weaving takes upon a feminine attire and plastic surgery to match; to bizarre comic effect.

Although some scenes are meant to supply comic relief, the humour did feel at times out of place especially with the stiff upper lip assumed as the narrative is carefully deciphered, and  this is made only more puzzling with the inclusion of a variety of interlinking actors. Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent are only some of the many talented actors used lavishly throughout the film with each one of them recycled into each other’s ‘time lines’ using prosthetics that are sometimes jarring but frequently impressive throughout. Each performance ‘behind the mask’ is brilliant with a clear sense of passion and enjoyment radiating from each one of them, to almost exaggerated lengths.  Performances are aided in particular by the phenomenally poetic screenplay, as characters belt poignant lines from the book with notable vigour and enthusiasm.

 Despite its highly complex nature Cloud Atlas ultimately feels like a simply structured narrative as a result of its impeccable storytelling. Edited to perfection in order to deliver an intelligent and understandable story to the masses Cloud Atlas is a rare cinematic beauty that never ceases to amaze and inspire.

9/10- A cinematic achievement on a momentous scale.

Calum Russell