I have to say flat-out,  I was wtf’ing for at least 2 hours into this film before I finally “got” wtf was going on. We’re talking six separate stories spanning 500 years (some in the future) . There’s no linear storytelling.  It  jumps from period to period .

With a stellar cast including Tom Hanks  , Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant and Jim Sturgess, these characters  are , at times, unrecognizable. The actors  not only  change roles, sometimes they change race. Sometimes they switch genders.  Some are positively  jarring- like Hugo Weaving as a Nurse Ratched wanna-be and  Jim Sturgess as an Asian.  At times the make-up is distracting, taking you right out of the film.

Definitely a visual masterpiece, “Cloud Atlas” is  mostly just confusing. I haven’t read the book by David Mitchell but I’m told it makes you work just as mcuh as the film. Yes- this one is hard work.  You can’t just sit back an enjoy. 

“Cloud Atlas” has 3 directors , including the Wachowski siblings, who used to be brothers til Larry transgendered into Lana.  So Lana, at least,  is very much at home with  transformation.

Basically,the theme of this film is how souls are reborn  and renew their bonds over and over again. Oh yeah- and love survives.

The film gets an “A” for effort- there’s nothing  out there  like it. It’s a cinematic  experiment.   Me??  I was tearing  my hair out in frustration.  If you loved, loved , loved the “Matrix”  and “Inception” , go for it.   To me,  it was a 100 million dollar mess.

2 stars