Review: Cloud Atlas

If I had to describe “Cloud Atlas” with one word, it would probably be “ambitious.”

Just look at all those characters.

…Immediately followed by “Tom Hanks,” because if there is any certainty in life, it’s that Tom Hanks is in this movie.

To summarize the plot of Cloud Atlas is an undertaking no one should have to face. Even if I did try and summarize the entire movie, I would be doing exactly six times the work and everyone would walk away from it confused anyway. It’s in these special cases that things like one word summaries turn out pretty handy.

I’m probably obligated to say a little more about it though, so I’ll tell you this: “Cloud Atlas” is a story about interconnectedness. A small part of me wishes it was a story with interconnectedness or featuring interconnectedness, but looking at it in retrospect, it seems to be a story about interconnectedness. Another way to summarize the movie would be to say that it is six stories from different times rolled into one, all featuring the same archetypal characters, and at some point the characters of one story read or observe the story that came before them.

There. Now you understand everything!

Right, so I’ve already used up a lot of words; let’s get into the review-y bits.

Right from the get go, the movie slams you with plot-relevant information piled on top of plot-relevant information topped with plot-relevant information, but it’s scientifically impossible (I swear) to comprehend exactly what is going on if it’s your first time seeing the movie. It really forces your attention, though, and after the first ten or so minutes, the information is fed to you in slightly less-frequent spoonfuls. Still, at some points it feels like you’re getting slammed. While revealing a new plot point with every turn of the camera creates an incredible sense of pace, it doesn’t exactly give you the chance to process it all in order to achieve a proper understanding of the movie so far, the way the book would–

Ah, the book.

That thing with pages.

Walking out of the theatre, my friends and I couldn’t help but feel like there was so much more to understand about Cloud Atlas, and that perhaps if we had read the book, all those little holes in our understanding would have been stitched up.

That actually ended up being what we would say when we couldn’t agree on the answers to certain questions we all had. So what was the significance of that one character, do you think?” “Eh, it’s probably explained in the book.”

The question is whether or not this trait makes “Cloud Atlas” good or bad.

My answer is just as vague as the question, actually: “Cloud Atlas” seems to be… just… one of those movies. The other day someone told me that “Cloud Atlas” has been called “the 2001 of our generation,” and while I think this would have Stanley Kubrick shaking his brilliant head in abject disappointment, I can see why people might say that. The film’s structure is similar to “2001” in its jumps across time, and the films are also similar in the way they’ll have you staying up into the wee hours of the night, making little notes and sketches of character webs (like the one pictured above) on discarded pizza boxes and napkins.

Because for some people, the reason behind the Monolith is not so straightforward…

But unlike “2001,” there’s a book. A book that probably has much, much more to offer in terms of explanation.

“Cloud Atlas” is ambitious. It packs truckloads of information into three hours and at the end, it still feels like only the surface has been scratched. Perhaps the book was just too much for a movie.

But here’s the thing: I still liked it. I liked piecing everything together afterwards. If non-linear 4000-piece jigsaw sorts of movies are your thing, go see it. Go see it now. Because you’ll love it when the pieces click together and create a spectacular picture across six different stories.

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3 Responses to Review: Cloud Atlas

  1. Caleb Yoder says:

    @Ryan- I have only seen Django out of that list, but you can probably expect a review of Argo next week after I see it at the HUB.
    Cloud Atlas doesn’t match up to Django, I’ll give you that much. It’s still enjoyable, though.

  2. Sabrina Evans says:

    Not that I’m bitter or anything, but my roommate promised me we would go see this at the HUB on Friday and she decided to go to a party instead. Not that I’m bitter or anything. This movie sparked my interest for some reason, possibly because it had some Oscar buzz, but also because it is one of those thinker films. I still want to see this, but maybe reading the book first would be a good idea. If you’re looking for a movie that is better to see BEFORE reading the book, go watch The Descendants. Both the book and the film were flawless and each actually fed off of the other. I want to see Argo this weekend, so we’ll see if my roommate is up for it.

  3. Ryan Dieter says:

    I’ve been looking for movies to watch lately. I’m in a sort of movie craze right now I guess, but I’m becoming very picky about which ones I’ll watch. Recently I decided to watch Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, Silver Lingings Playbook, and Django. These were all phenomenal movies (Argo the most phenomenal), but know movies that don’t measure up to those four leave me sad and wishing I would have watched a better movie. In your opinion do you think Cloud Atlas measures up?

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