BY CHRISTOPHER STAMM
GUEST movie REVIEWER
Cloud Atlas (Available on most streaming devices)
Rated R – for language, violence, and nudity/sexuality
My friends, it is with the most sincere regret that I must inform you that, due to life, I was unable to see a new film for you this week.
So, I have decided to review an older film that may have slipped past you over the last few years, that is absolutely worth seeking out.
Cloud Atlas came out just shy of 10 years ago and vanished from the cinemas very quickly, not because it was/is a bad film – it’s actually a phenomenal film and, in my humble opinion, borders on genius – but because it is complicated and has deeper themes that resonate instead of slam bang action and a paper thin plot.
Cloud Atlas has a cast led by Tom Hanks and Halle Berry that is frankly remarkable, with talented actors such as Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon, and many, many more talented performers. The film weaves the viewer through multiple times, from the late 1800’s to somewhere around 2321 A.D., and manages to connect each time to the main point of the film, that inside us all, we are capable of good or bad; it’s the decisions we make that define us; and that everyone and everything is connected, now and always. Actions by characters in the 1800’s influence characters in 2321.
The cast remains the same from time period to time period, sometimes villains, at other times heroes, and in some cases, something in-between.
Look, to be honest, this film is a 50/50. You will either love it deeply, as I do (It’s on my 10 best films of all times list), or loath it with intensity. When it was released, it appeared on as many best-of-the-year lists as worst-of-the-year lists, and it is also runs 2 hours and 52 minutes, so be warned.
My advice, if it is worth anything, is give this one a try.
I found this film to be mesmerizing in its ability to tell a complicated story that was worth telling and for reminding me, everything is connected and “our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others. Past and present. And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.”
As you can guess Cloud Atlas gets five out of five stars for all the reasons I can and cannot tell you. Watch it, and you may understand why I love this film so much. Or, perhaps you will not, but it’s worth a shot.