How much impact does a film have on your life? Do you leave the theater thinking you are going to change your life, or that you are going to see the world in a new way? Probably not, but you may have that feeling as well as the knowledge of the story forever. You might forget exactly what they said or who was in it, but in some part you will remember the feeling that film gave you. Some films resonate a particular kind of thought or feeling, causing you to see deeper in your own life.
I had to think about Cloud Atlas for a few days after seeing the it. This is the kind of movie that you need to let stew in your brain for a while. There is all measure of themes and feelings that this story portrays; its hard to get a firm grip on how you feel about the movie as a whole. Cloud Atlas, if anything, provokes thought. You are given so much information - I would image it would take a few viewings to get all out of this film. Luckily, it's a great film so you should be like me, and not
The description of the plot is something I am having trouble putting into words, only because I am worried about giving away the mystery of the film and ruining the “holy crap moment” that this movie makes you feel. So I will be subtle and broad, but if you are really worried about things being “spoiled” just don't read the rest of this paragraph. The basic idea is that you have six story lines, all from different time frames, all with different characters, performed by the same actors, in every timeline. Its about as confusing as that sentence. Tom Hanks, Halley Barry, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, all play all the characters in all the timelines, each of them big and small. Each main character has their own devoted story and time. Each actor can be seen throughout each timeline, some looking very different, under pounds of makeup and prosthetics. It was always kind of interesting to find each character throughout, not knowing where they might show up. Who will they be in this timeline? End of small spoilers.
The editing is very interesting, and lends itself well to following the six simultaneous storylines. You could be very easy for you to get lost in this film, but I feel they did a fantastic job of making it work. With so much information, the movie washes over you so fast - it keeps going and going, not stopping to let things sink in. When you think you can see where a story is going, it cuts to another time line. The transitions seem like it would be a mess, jumping from 1849 to 2143 but they work, and they all seem to work together. Directed by three different directors, Tom Tvkwer, Andy and Lana Wachowski. Each having a different time lines and different feels. Its amazing how they all work together, and make one large movie experience.
This movie will stay in my memory for a long time, as it is beautiful and pretty amazing. It is rated R but I would recommend this film to anyone. Only having a little bit of nudity and violence. It is a pretty weird film, and not all the answers are figured out easily or even given to you, and that might irritate the people who don’t want to think when they go to the movies. This is not a film you want to go in and not pay attention, you will be lost. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.
The Rating System
Production (Directing, Editing, Music) 5-5 (yep)
Story (Plot) 4-5
Characters (Likability, Acting) 4-5
Writing (Dialogue, Cleverness)4-5
Emotions (Was it; Fun, Scary, Sad, Do I care)5-5
Over all score 22-25
Having read the book, I was biting my nails waiting for Oz to finally get this one (didn't hit our shores til Feb 2013 and even then in very limited release). I ended up having to download it and glad I did since I had to pause every 5 mins to explain what was happening to Brendon who had not read the book. I think it left a lot to the imagination and was under the assumption the audience had read the book and knew the ins and outs of the characters and their relationships or (future incarnations) with each other.
ReplyDeleteBut yes I agree, it was a beautiful film, even if it was not for everyone.