Review! Cloud Atlas
Cloud Atlas (2012) Directed by Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski & Lana Wachowski. Starring: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Hugh Grant. IMDB says: ”An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.”
Cloud Atlas is the tale of Adam Ewing, (Jim Sturgess) a lawyer traveling from the Pacific Islands to San Francisco in the 1700s when he falls ill and receives help from the most unlikely of people. Wait… no that’s wrong. Cloud Atlas is the 1970s thriller-drama about journalist Luisa Rey (Halle Berry) and her uncovering a dark secret of a nuclear power plant. Can she publish the materials in time? Or will she be stopped by a hired gun? Actually… nope. Wrong, sorry. Cloud Atlas is the story of Timothy Cavendish (Jim Broadbent) a book publisher who has had some run-ins with the mob and with the help of his brother (Hugh Grant), he hides out in the most unlikely of places: a retirement home. But upon discovering it’s more like a prison, he decides to escape in this slapstick comedy… I messed up again. I’m sorry this is incredibly unprofessional. Cloud Atlas is the heartbreaking romantic drama set in the late 1800s about young composer Robert Frobisher (a fantastic Ben Whishaw) who is hiding a secret love affair as he crafts the greatest musical piece ever written. Okay, okay, okay. One last time, I swear I’ll get it right. It’s 2241. The setting is Neo Seoul. It’s a dystopian future where fabricants operate amongst the consumers. But when fabricant Sonmi-451 (Doona Bae) breaks free of her slavery, it’s a race to escape the government’s clutches to find refuge within the rebellious group trying to turn things around. You’re kidding me? That’s not it either? Okay… well then Cloud Atlas takes place 144 Winters after the Fall. Zachry (Tom Hanks) is out scouting with fellow tribesman when they are ambushed. Zachry is the only one to survive and as he makes it back to his camp in the valley, he finds there is a visitor from a distant world. Ovid (Halle Berry) is looking for answers in the most dangerous of places. Can Zachry help?
Actually, Cloud Atlas is an intricate and near-perfect weaving of all of those stories. Directed by The Wachowski Siblings (The Matrix, like I really need to tell you who the Wachowski’s are) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), the film travels through gorgeously told stories with universal themes about love and changing ones life for the better. The settings are astonishing, the effects are solid, the score is captivating and beautiful at times, and the cast is astounding. Nearly three hours in length, Cloud Atlas is an odyssey through time that I fell in love with and cannot wait to experience over and over.
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