Movie Review: Cloud Atlas

Watch this film for the first time, and you'll know that you'll want to watch it again. The film is elemental: touching from the core of the abstracts of a great story, concept, creativity, substance and message to the crude essentials of film-making - great direction, an engaging cinematography, meaty script (adapted from a book by the same name by David Mitchell, who is also credited as the writer on the film) and a haunting soundtrack. Yes, this film is intoxicating.

The film tests one's patience as the gravity of the stories unfold, making the film an experience in itself. As the connections become clearer, one cannot help but anticipate the climax that's justly rewarding. Some may find the preaching getting heavier, and uncalled for, towards the end. But then, cinema is all about drama. And this drama is captivating, to say the least.

The stories are complex, brilliantly intertwined and yes, they demand and deserve your complete attention. Seven lifetimes and stories keep interchanging across time, asking you the question what truly lasts forever. If you're excited by alternate realities and parallel universes, then this film will entertain you to no end. Even if you see it as a linear story-telling, the message will find a way right into you. It is that simple, too. 

The stories are intense, with a stellar soundtrack to accompany it. I think this movie will win an Oscar in the Best Make-Up category. You just have to see Tom Hank's avatars to believe their brilliance and creative bent. Visually stunning (that is a given, considering the fact that these guys gave us the Matrix!) and remarkably compelling, the tone of the film is set to move you.

This is an adventure of film-making itself, with directors Lana and Andy Wachowski (the illuminating 'Matrix' film series) and Tom Tykwer ('Run Lola, Run' and the amazing 'Perfume: Story of a Murderer') and actors like Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, who prove that they were born for stuff made up of celluloid.

This is an expensive film, made on a budget of around $102 million. It is also an ambitious film: attempting to connect everything, six lifetimes with an ensemble of a superb cast that is creatively and challengingly recycled. The film is a must-watch for the dedicated performances of seasoned actors like Halle Berry, Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant (surprise, surprise), Hugo Weaving and Jim Broadbent. Even the new generation of actors like Jim Sturgess and Ben Winshaw (the actor shows us he's more than just "cute" - one is reminded of a younger Leonardo DiCaprio when the latter started out as an eye-candy in Titanic to being one of the most dedicated actors of our time) bring a lot of energy on the screen.

The film explores your heart, filling you with myriad emotions without a warning. To me, the film is a brilliant synergy-- a connection with sincere performances, adept storytelling and a scintillating soundtrack, that accompanies every emotion with élan and depth. It is truly a timeless masterpiece. Strange that mortal men, with all their faults and shortcomings, can come up with something so compellingly pure and inspiring.