"Because a man like me has no business with this substance 'beauty,' yet here she is, in these soundproofed chambers of my heart."
That is the best line, in the best passage, of "Cloud Atlas," a novel written by David Mitchell. Novel isn't really what to call it. A very-loosely linked collection of short stories is more like it. And there's a new film adaptation of the book, written and directed by three people, the Wachowski's and Tom Tykwer. Now the reason this film has any real cachet is the fact that it was at least co-made by the siblings that did the Matrix trilogy. After that they only made Speed Racer, an amusing bomb, so it's kind of a big deal when they show up with a new film. And this is a film based on the so-called "unfilmable" novel.
I will admit that I read this book and found it to be hit or miss. The above line is a part of the beautifully written "Letters to Zedelghem" section, which, alongside "The Terrible Ordeal of Timothy Cavendash," are the only two very good parts of the book. The book & film feature stories in various time periods, so the writing changes from 70's speak to futuristic speak. The book's middle section is near unreadable, and the film veers into cornball territory very easily thanks mostly to having Tom Hanks in it.
The film certainly looks good. It's entertaining, albeit too long. The book is told in a pyramid style; each story is presented once, then a long section set in the distant future unfolds, then we return back to each story again. This means that the opening and closing sections are both of Adam Ewing's Pacific journal. If you're confused, then good luck watching this movie without a road map, as the book's structure is thrown out the window and the film is edited so that it's back and forth, total mayhem between stories.
I guess it's a good accomplishment...but I'd rather have seen Tykwer and the Wachowski's make something original. It doesn't exactly help that the "Somni" story is mostly action in the film, or that the best part of the entire book, Frobisher's foolish love of his composer boss' daughter, has been excised.
I guess to get funding for this expensive picture they needed a name or two, but Tom Hanks and Halle Berry stick out like sore thumbs.
So like the book, the film is hit or miss. But the book does work mostly because of the writing; some of it is so elegant, so poetic, and the film has none of that. It's just a big, glossy, froth of colorful images that combine into nothing. **1/2
