Cloud Atlas - such a shame it fared poorly at the box office, such a shame

Cafe Society
1

I saw Cloud Atlas a few days ago. Then, I did something I hadn’t done in years, in decades actually; I went and saw it again. That’s how amazing it was. A glorious, enthralling, and without a doubt, unique experience.

How to describe it? Moving? Exciting? Stimulating? Provocative? Inspiring? Or, like the film itself - threads of each one interwoven through scene and segment, complementing and extending one and other. Rarely, and I think never, has a movie affected me this way; I can’t stop thinking about it. I continue to appreciate and understand things I missed while watching it, twice.

I won’t even try to give a capsule version of its plot, but will note (for those who may not know) that the movie, like the book upon which it is based, is comprised of six different story lines, each one set in a different time and different place. Spanning five hundred years, from past to future, and millions of miles, from the Polynesian Pacific to the ink skies of the galaxy, the film earns its three-hour length.

And, nor will I describe all its superlative qualities: the acting (up to six roles for some, even including characters of the opposite gender!), the cinematography, the sets and 'costumes", the special effects, the make-up, the soundtrack, and, oh my, the editing. All simply superb. And all working together to create a unique and sublime experience

So, why am I posting this, and why now, especially since its run at the theaters is almost over (and, in fact, is finished in some places)? There are two reasons:

First, I wanted to urge you to see it if you have the chance. Although I know that some, okay many, have not been as enthusiastic about the movie as I have, I want to be able to share the film, and my feelings about it, with as many people as possible.

Second, and the more fundamental reason for this typically bloated KarlGauss OP, is that I want to understand why it was savaged by so many critics; why did such a magnificent movie receive such derisive reviews by such a large number of reviewers. Or, and frankly using a more honest phrasing, why did so very few critics give it high ratings and thereby discourage its potential audience? However phrased, it is, in my opinion, nothing short of a travesty that such a fine, fine film may be about to slip into relative obscurity, especially after being seen by only a small fraction of those who would surely have enjoyed it, or, like me exulted in it.

2

I don’t know why it was so savaged. It was a HUGE independent film, which may have won it enmity from the studios, but I thought reviewers were generally in favor of indy stuff.

We saw it a few weeks ago, and loved it.

3

I wasn’t aware it was trashed by critics. The San Francisco Chronicle (which uses a stupid “Little Man” icon to rate movies) gave it a good review and the Little Man equivalent of four out of five stars.

4

Okay, “savaged” is an overstatement. Still, it did not do well by the critics’ pens. On Metacritic it received an insipid average of 55 (out of 100). More to my point, and less debatable, is the fact that of 43 reviews there, 20 were less than enthusiastic (with ratings between 40 and 60) and four were, in fact, ‘savage’ (with ratings between 0 and 25).

One thing I should have mentioned, which formed a good part of my upset with how things turned out for the film, was that with a budget of around $100 million, it is unlikely to be a moneymaker for the producers. To this point, its global take is around $65 million and it is hardly even playing anymore. The likelihood of it pulling in $35 million more at this point seems remote.

5

I’m sure for the most part they were giving their honest opinions.

Now there’s something not to feel bad about about - under Hollywood’s notorious accounting practices hits from Return of the Jedi to Fahrenheit 9/11 to My Big Fat Greek Wedding to Forrest Gump were supposedly unprofitable too.

6

It hasn’t even opened in a lot of countries yet, including the UK. I’m keen to see it but will have to wait until towards the end of February…

7

I don’t know about the movie, but I just read the book, and I have to say I came away very…underwhelmed. Such a lot of effort, with the six stories and everything, but there was nothing in the book or in the stories which justified their structuring. And the structuring just made it aggravating to wait for the second half of the story, and added nothing that I could see. YMMV