Cloud Atlas: A Cord Review
Bold, innovative, and even mind-boggling. These are all words that could be use to describe the recently released Cloud Atlas, directed by the Wachowski siblings (The Matrix and V for Vendetta) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run).
With an immense running time of nearly three hours, Cloud Atlas is an epic tale that weaves through the past, present and future. It draws upon six interweaving protagonists’ lives across time and space.
The film may prove to be ambitious for some, with its philosophical undertones that attempt to explore the interconnected nature of life, but its vast scale and broad lens for depicting life in all its beauty is impossible to ignore.
The directors have created is a movie with great expectations — one that pushes the boundaries of what we have come to know as a cinematic experience.
Although the studio’s influence on the film, in terms of production, is evident. The film drips with big budget dollars, however; it’s obvious that the directors have intended to try and surpass this constraint.
The film’s engrossing cinematography explores some of the world’s greatest landscapes; ranging from the sea, all the way to the tops of mountain cliffs and through modern and futuristic metropolises.
Moreover, the film hosts an impressive cast ridden with Oscar-caliber talent including the likes of Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant and Jim Sturgess.
With a cast like this it would be an understatement to deem the acting in Cloud Atlas as anything other than impeccable.
The two main stars of the film are Hanks and Berry, whose chemistry is refreshing, given that I expected it to be contrived due to their different character roles in previous films.
The actress who steals the show, is Doona Bae. Bae plays the soon to be cult favourite character of Sonmi-451. She is Cloud Atlas’ puzzling enigma, as she is a clone seeking liberation from an oppressive government rule in the future.
Fortunately, Hae-Joo Chang, played by Sturgess, comes to her aid.
Their candid and unconditional love for one another proves to become one of the most enthralling storylines of the movie, and the extent to which they would risk it all for each other should be the biggest crowd pleaser of all.
