Review of Cloud Atlas (2012) by John H — 18 Sep 2017

Fantastic, moving, complex. This is storytelling at its finest, weaving together the seemingly disparate tales of characters distanced from each other by time, yet linked by purpose, and some undefinable yet palpable thread.

Cloud Atlas is so well paced, I was a bit surprised by its run time when I finally noticed I was just past the halfway point. The plot of Cloud Atlas is composed much like the sextet one of the characters creates in kind, appropriately the film's namesake, layering all its different instruments into a masterpiece - the film has a cadence, and incorporates discord leading into harmony.

It is not an easy film to absorb, as its very subject matter is also difficult for many to swallow, on top of requiring the audience to pay much more attention than any of the standard summer blockbuster fare.

But if you are willing to be taken outside of your comfort zone, or are already one who doesn't balk at revolutionary ideologies, you're in for a poignant work of cinematic beauty. Perhaps a 66% rating across the board is actually higher acclaim than one could have hoped, though far lower than Cloud Atlas deserves.