A set of six nested stories spanning time between the 19th century and a distant post-apocalyptic future. Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one anothe...
Cloud Atlas transcends linearity to present an ambitious alignment of souls. A raindrop. Manifesting its elliptical shape at the edge of its existence. Building up water, the stream of life to which fauna and flora live by. Its heavy weight causing the drop to depart from the material that transpired it. Some drops smash onto the dry ground, absorbing its essence. Forgotten. Others collide with bodies of water, producing a profound rippling effect that contributes to the volumetric space of its whole. “No matter what you do it will never amount to anything but a single drop in a limitless ocean”, highlighting the insignificance of one mere contribution to a greater action. “What is an ocean but a multitude of drops”. Mitchell’s original novel, complexities and all, describes it himself as a “pointillist mosaic”. Carefully arranged dots or fragments orchestrated to comprise a monumental piece.
Cloud Atlas is the same conceptual thinking through a literary method. Minuscule lives can impact one another across time itself. Past, present and future. An antagonistic killer moulded into a heroic saviour through reincarnation, where one single action can ripple across infinity to inspire a revolution for the masses. An American lawyer documenting his parasitical journey across the Pacific in 1849, only to be read by an aspiring English composer in 1936 whom composes his own masterpiece, that is then tracked down in 1973 by a journalist whom exposes a conspiracy to create a nuclear catastrophe during an energy crisis, to which is then written into a manuscript and read by an ageing publisher whom accidentally commits himself to a nursing home and attempts to flee in 2012, a scenario that is produced as a film and quoted by human clones in 2144 which inspires a revolution against a dystopian authority, cementing a “fabricant” as a deity in 2321 in which her recorded testimony now acts as sacred text for tribespeople. And, breathe...!
The Wachowskis and Tykwer attempt to adapt, what many consider is, an “unfilmable” book. A novel so rich in thematic depth, narrative complexity and imaginative tonalities that it could not possibly function as a cohesive feature. Yet, here we are. Independently funded, four years of development and arguably the most ambitious sci-fi extravaganza ever committed to celluloid. It’s an impossibly astonishing product that is equally flawed as it is beautiful. An orchestration of meticulous narrative manipulation that just cannot be comprehended in an initial or subsequent viewing. Its composition consists of six short stories, harnessing differing tones, characters and worlds. Each piece works as a functional strand of dramatic storytelling. But, insert Berner’s near-impossible task of editing these stories to create one three-hour behemoth of totality, and Cloud Atlas becomes a mesmerising beast entirely. It categorically should not work.
‘The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish’ and ‘An Orison of Sonmi-451’ tonally are undeniably different, more often than not clashing with each other to create an inconsistent pace. A light comedy escapade interwoven with a sci-fi revolutionary blockbuster, sprinkled with a blaxploitation plot and a period drama across the sea. For the initial thirty minutes, these changes in style and genres fail to resonate, as The Wachowskis attempt to introduce each story whilst interlinking then together. However, Berner somehow manages to join the narrative beats of each story and merge them as one feature. The more thrilling aspects of the various stories, including Sonmi-451 escaping her fast food imprisonment and a stow away Moriori slave proving his worth as a potential crew member, are associated together. Indicating that each tale, more often than not, follow the same narrative beats and can therefore be connected together to produce an overarching feature that does not juxtapose its own tones. It’s sheer lunacy! To comprehend such a task, finalise its contents and create a cohesive product, well, it’s masterful. It really is! The Wachowskis’ solid direction throughout, even if some stories had far more screen time than others, meant that the thematic presence of reincarnation was maintained constantly.
What assisted with this, was the recasting of the same actors in various characters. Grant started off as a reverend and finished his timeline as a savage cannibal. Hanks from a parasitical doctor to a conflicted tribesman, wobbly Irish-pirate accents and all. Berry, Weaving, Sturgess and Whishaw, to name a few, all undergoing substantial transformations to materialise the continuity of souls. Undergoing astounding makeup and costume design, forcing viewers to double take when a man would portray a female character and vice versa. The only questionable decision, was the application of eye makeup during the Neo Seoul segment, transforming white actors to become Korean characters. Personally wasn’t needed, as the Unionists could’ve been multicultural and then devoid the whitewashing controversy immediately. The decision was understandable and integral to the story, yet exerts an ethnical question mark. The other qualm, despite the overbearing tonal changes, was the dialogue in the ‘Sloosha’s Crossin’ an’ Ev’ryrhin’ After’ chapter. Extremely difficult to translate given the almost Shakespearean style and muffled grumbling, so activating subtitles is advised.
Regardless, Cloud Atlas is a film with plenty of film. Six if you want to be precise. An intricate orchestration of various compositions that symbolise the impact of even the most insignificant of actions, rippling across time and space to produce something greater. It’s an anomaly. An impossible feature that is just as compelling as it is tonally flawed. Yet, in an age where franchises control Hollywood, isn’t it about time we supported a film with as much ambition as Cloud Atlas? For that reason alone, it gets my full support. Much like the “Cloud Atlas Sextet”, beautifully composed like the rest of the score, it eternally haunts me. Pushing me into performing small acts of kindness that can affect the lives of others in the future.
