The movie Cloud Atlas is a good presentation of a bad adaptation of the novel. Both the book and the film show the connections between people exist through time. In the movie, however, these connections are about romantic love; essentially, every soul seeks a mate. In the book, there is a humanity that supplies some hope, a larger message about human nature, and a recurring theme on the predacious nature of civilizations.
After screening at a handful of festivals, this film is opening nationally. I original saw this film during the San Francisco International Film Festival and have waited to post it, knowing that it would receive a wider distribution. And now it has.
As the film opens, in the near future, we learn that retired cat burglar Frank’s (Frank Langella) memory has begun failing him. We’re told he’s not as sharp as he used to be. He also appears lonely, not just because he lives alone and his adult children are in the prime of their careers and separate lives, but he doesn’t appear to have the basic ambition or will for everyday life. His home is a mess and his general attitude is rife with despondency. Then his son, Hunter (James Marsden), brings a robot (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard), the latest in personal assistance.
Last night, I went to a preview screening of Compliance, a new movie about authority, assumed authority, and infringement of personal rights. In a fast food restaurant, the manager receives a call from a police officer stating that an employee has stolen from a customer. The caller then asks the manager to assist with the investigation until help can arrive on the scene. This begins with searching the employee’s personal belongings and leads to a strip search and, presumably, more unsettling action.
I say that it presumably led to more unsettling action because I didn’t make it to the final scene. I have sat through some bad movies and I can’t think of the last time I chose not to finish one. Before Compliance got to the one-hour mark, I got up and walked out of the theater.
The preview screening I attended of Michael Winterbottom’s Trishna started with the film out of frame for the first few minutes. The bottom portion of the picture was cut off and appeared the above the screen. That is a good metaphor for the movie itself. It just doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be; or maybe, it tries to be too many things and loses its focus in the process.
Writer/director Christopher Nolan returns for his third Batman film and continues the darker themes that made Batman Begins and The Dark Knight popular. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), Batman’s alter ego, is still dealing with his past, namely the events of the last film in this series – the death and cover-up of Harvey Dent and the fatal loss of his childhood friend, Rachel Dawes – and the never-ending personal dilemma of losing his both parents at a young age.
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