Sunday 20 January 2013

Cloud Atlas


I was extremely lucky to obtain a copy of this film. Directed by some of the most intelligent people in Hollywood, The Wachowski Brothers (although they aren’t  brothers any more, they are more Brother and Sister now due to Larry having a sex change to Lana, which I congratulate him on his braveness, and wish him all the best in the future).

Neo Seoul 2144 - Cloud Atlas Poster
I normally get really excited by anything the Wachowski’s do, The Matrix and V for Vendetta being some of my favourite films. (Maybe it’s the Joel Silver/Wachowski mix that helps the films develop into brilliant films). When I watched the trailer for this film I felt no differently than the others, this certainly has a “Matrixy” feel to it with the different timeline’s and the Dark environment of 2144 Neo-Seoul (one of the six timeline’s in the film).

This film has a multitude of talent on show, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon and Hugh Grant. These are just some of the names on show in this film.

So what’s it about I hear you say? Well, like I explained earlier this film is set across 6 timelines:

South Pacific Ocean - 1849
Cambridge, England & Edinburgh, Scotland - 1936
San Francisco - 1976
United Kingdom - 2012
Neo Seoul - 2144
The Big Island Of Hawaii (Dated 106 after “The Fall”) Year 2314

Might I add that each of these storylines is extremely interesting, and they support each other very well. The whole film shows people’s lives intertwining and each of their actions making consequences for the future after they have died.

Each of the actors/actresses are in each of the timelines as different characters and this is where the re-incarnation idea is born. They each play several characters in the film, but don’t let this put you off the costumes and make up are simply unbelievable and some of the best I have seen, this certainly helps with storylines because without this it would be extremely hard to follow.

All the actors/actresses give powerhouse performances throughout, Tom Hanks especially; it reminded me of his performances in Forest Gump and Castaway.

I’m not going to go into great depths on what character each person plays because I want you to experience this film totally blind, all I can say is, that it is completely and utterly beautiful and somewhat a visionary piece, I can only thank the Wachowski’s for constructing such a masterpiece and certainly puts them back on the map, if anyone was disappointed by their sequels to the Matrix (I personally wasn’t annoyed by the sequels but I know a lot of people were).

DO NOT expect an action film; EXPECT top class acting, world class makeup and special effects, brilliant storyline, excellent script.

Please, Please go and watch this film at the cinema when it comes out, it has already hit the states about 2-3 months ago, but is out in Europe on the 22nd February.

Absolutely Brilliant!



 Cloud Atlas Trailer