Crowd Atlas: An Observation of the Audience Reaction to the Film 'Cloud Atlas'

Crowd Atlas: An Observation of the Audience Reaction to the Film ‘Cloud Atlas’

written by Adam Stutsman

A week or so ago, I drove to Grand Rapids, MI with a good friend to see the epic and hype-surrounded film experience known as Cloud Atlas on a glorious IMAX screen. The three-hour brain workout was absolutely worth the drive, but the aspect of this film that has interested me most isn’t the sprawling storyline(s), the beautiful themes, or the impressive acting (seriously Academy, pay attention); the thing that has fascinated me most about this film is the various audience reactions to it.

After weeks of observation, investigation, and surfing IMDB, I realize that the audience of Cloud Atlas can be split up into three groups: the haters, the fanatics, and the realists.

The Haters:

This collection of individuals can be further split into two sub-groups (don’t worry, this shouldn’t be too confusing). Those sub-groups are as follows: those who hated the film because they didn’t understand it, and those who hated the film because they think they are above it.

The first sub-group consists of the people who walked out of Inception because they couldn’t handle the mental workout that is Nolan. This group of people doesn’t like anything that isn’t straightforward when it comes to film. If you have to dig beneath the surface, it’s too much work, and therefore not worthwhile. They would probably hate this post for these reasons. This particular moviegoer isn’t “stupid” or “ignorant” by any means, necessarily; they simply do not enjoy films with many layers. They go to the movies to enjoy light entertainment before likely continuing their Friday evening with their friends. At the same time, these are the people who go see forgettable film drivel and enjoy it, which is annoying to people who crave more than remakes and special effects. Hollywood caters to this crowd more often than not because this is where the big money lies. Why was The Avengers so successful? Because it was chock full of special effects and blockbuster goodies for the aforementioned group, but was also smart and faithful for the die-hard fans; it catered to the largest amount of moviegoers, and therefore broke a plethora of film records. But I digress. This group of Haters didn’t like Cloud Atlas because there are not only six different storylines happening at once in the film, but all of these storylines contain the same actors playing different characters. That’s enough to overwhelm the majority of American moviegoers, and sure enough, Cloud Atlas did just that. But this film was anything but a failure (see The Fanatics and The Realists).

The second sub-group of Haters are the people who get under my skin more than anyone else when it comes to discussing cinema; these are the people who hated Cloud Atlas because they found it pretentious, too complex to work, or conversely, too simple and “trying to be smarter than it is.” I’ve often heard this group dub Cloud Atlas “Terrance Malick for dummies” which is insulting to not only Malick (who, if you don’t get the reference, is an extremely talented director who uses gorgeous cinematography and deep storytelling to explore themes resulting in films that most people don’t fully understand, myself included, and has divided film critics more than almost any other director) but also to the Wachowski’s and Tom Tykwer (the directors of Cloud Atlas). What they mean by this is that Cloud Atlas discusses massive themes (life, death, love, beauty, truth, etc.) in a way that is palatable to the masses, and that this is a bad thing. Now, I don’t disagree that Cloud Atlas is far easier to understand than Malick’s Tree of Life or even Nolan’s Inception, but I do disagree on the notion that this is a negative thing. Cloud Atlas is an epic film that you’ll want to see multiple times if you want to fully absorb the beauty and importance in each layer, but you can also walk away from a first viewing feeling satisfied. I could honestly never watch Cloud Atlas again because I feel as though I understood it. However, I would love to see it again so I could not only revisit the things I felt, but perhaps unlock some new responses that didn’t get through the first time. The people who go on about how pretentious they think it is or how stupid the people who enjoyed it are reveal themselves as nothing more than self-absorbed and pretentious themselves. Cinema is not about proving how intelligent you are, but rather about sharing in the vision that other people conceived and drawing your own life-altering message from it, or simply enjoying said vision in a way that takes you out of your own life and places you in another that you could not otherwise experience. This is precisely what Cloud Atlas has attempted and achieved.

The Fanatics:

This group is partially the reason for the second sub-group of Haters. These are the die-hard Wachowski fans that saw The Matrix twenty times in theatres, wrote books about it, and trained with wooden rods to fight like Neo in The Matrix: Reloaded. These are the people who saw Inception twice in one night and took notes, swearing they had figured out the ending, down to the last detail, and will defend their theory to the grave. But most importantly, these are the people who think Cloud Atlas is the greatest film achievement to ever happen in the history of the art form, and if you think otherwise, you simply didn’t “get” it. This group is like The Realists on a sugar high in the sense that they not only see the positives in Cloud Atlas, but they believe that only these positives exist and the film is a flawless masterpiece. There is no shame in belonging to this group, I assure you. I’ve lost my mind over more films than I can mention, many of which did not deserve such hysteria. But here’s the thing: Cloud Atlas not only deserves such fanatics, but demands them. Cloud Atlas is overflowing with reasons to freak out over it. The acting is brilliant, the themes are vital, and, quite frankly, it’s a miracle this film was even made in the first place. You like sci-fi action? Here’s a storyline with robots, laser guns, and an oppressive government. You like post-apocalyptic societies with grandiose religions and the best Devil representation ever? Here’s a storyline starring Tom Hanks wearing a loincloth and speaking an altered version of English while Hugo Weaving whispers terrifying things to him. You like a heart-wrenching love story? Here’s a tale of a composer, his lover, and his quest to compose an opus of his own. You like thrillers about journalism and truth? Here’s Halle Berry on the run from money-grubbing businessmen because of the information she possesses. You like a lighthearted tale about getting older or stories about slavery and freedom? You guessed it; Cloud Atlas has it. The fact that all of these things can exist simultaneously and work together in harmony to express the same themes is nothing short of miraculous, and I believe that wholeheartedly. But I wouldn’t say this is the group to which I personally belong.

The Realists:

This is the group that, I assume, Cloud Atlas was aimed at (in addition to banking on the fanatics and the curious coming to see it, of course). These are the people who saw Cloud Atlas, were open to what it was attempting, spent some time chewing it over, and realized this: Cloud Atlas is an astonishing film, but not the greatest film ever made. This is not an opinion, but a fact. If you’ve studied cinema at all, or ever seen a movie in your life, you simply must acknowledge that Cloud Atlas is an artistic accomplishment deserving of notice, and that it is one of the most important films of the year, period. It is not without its imperfections, but what film is? (All together now: The Dark Knight!) This group looks at Cloud Atlas for what it is, faults and all. It acknowledges the importance without jumping down your throat about how great it is, and it is open to criticism and discussion of the film. I much prefer to have dinner with these people.

My (Sort-of) Review:

Overall, I’d say I feel as though I am 90% Realist and 10% Fanatic. Let’s face it, I loved Cloud Atlas and I highly recommend seeing it, if only to put your own opinion out there.

But what is my opinion? Let’s break it down, shall we—

The direction: this film has three directors working together as a team for equal directing credit. This is highly irregular, yes, but it also shows just how in-tune these three had to be with each other to create a film with no jarring changes in tone when the storylines switch directors. Cloud Atlas feels like a singular vision, and honestly, despite having three directors, it is.

The funding: I just want to point out how amazing it is that this is still technically an “independent film.”

The writing: I have never read the source material for this film, but I’m not reviewing the novel here. As a writer, the thought of weaving together six epic storylines into one cohesive unit is daunting to say the least. To attempt something this huge is nothing short of brave, which is further supported by just how many important actors were involved here, because if this had failed, it would have been a titanic disaster of money-loss, career-dives, and wasted time. Luckily for the cast and crew, it was none of these things.

The acting: okay, seriously, if Tom Hanks and Jim Sturgess aren’t both nominated for Best Actor, Hugo Weaving for Best Supporting Actor, and Halle Berry and Bae Doona for Best Actress, I will be more disappointed in the Academy than when Rooney Mara lost Best Actress last year (I know, I know, “but it’s Meryl Streep!”). Every single player in this movie brought absolute passion into these characters and played them with such fervor and belief that I stopped trying to figure out which actor was which character under all that make-up (Best Make-Up Oscar, please) and let them tell their stories to me.

The score: if you’ve seen the trailer, you know just how emotional and beautiful The Cloud Atlas Sextet is. Well, take that passion and make a whole film score out of it. Gorgeous.

The cinematography: this is where I can stop sounding like a Fanatic as much. The cinematography and effects were great, yes, but they didn’t stick out as anything that should be adored. Some of the effects were incredible, I’ll give it that, but no specific shots stuck in my mind. Then again, the purpose of Cloud Atlas was not the visuals, but the stories and themes. This isn’t to say the cinematography was bad by any means, but it didn’t blow me away like the stories or acting. Maybe you’ll feel differently.

In fact, maybe you’ll feel differently than anything I’ve said thus far, and honestly, that’s a good thing. I am by no means an end-all source for film analysis, and I think that’s what I like so much about Cloud Atlas in general. It offers up many different possibilities for different readings. People who are open to talking about film, regardless of disagreements, are part of the reason I find so much joy in the art form, and movies like this are just begging to be discussed.

Oh, and can we please talk about how Cloud Atlas is one of the only films to incorporate a homosexual relationship and not have it drown out the rest of that character’s attributes? Seriously, this is one of the only films I’ve ever seen that isn’t using its homosexual character as a gimmick to bring in the LGBT supporters or taking a stand one way or the other on homosexual relationships or marriage. The relationship is pivotal to the story, it is genuine, and it is real, just like a relationship (regardless of orientation) should be.

(If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading. I’m almost done, I promise.)

Okay, so, to recap: go see Cloud Atlas, be open to it, and draw your own meanings from it. Don’t be a jerk, don’t be a snob, and if you don’t understand it, don’t hate on it. Be open to discussion with others, whether it’s about the successes or failures of this or any other film (or subject, for that matter).

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Adam: And with that, I bring this Cloud Atlas-length post to a close. Thank you all for reading, and stay tuned for my upcoming review of Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph sometime this week, and our first-ever monthly Reader Request Review (or ReReRe) in the near future!