In the most recent New Yorker, Aleksandar Hemon details the fantastical movie that almost wasn’t: the Wachowskis’ adaptation of David Mitchell’s 2004 enigmatic novel, “Cloud Atlas.” The article lists an array of hold ups while making the movie: Halle Berry’s broken foot while shooting in Mallorca, studio hesitancy, and terrible weather. This is not to mention puzzling source material: “Cloud Atlas” includes six plot threads divided across centuries and cosmically connected. Mitchell has even said of his work, “As I was writing ‘Cloud Atlas,’ I thought, It’s a shame this is unfilmable.”
After meeting with the Wachowskis and co-director Tom Tykwer (“Run Lola Run”), the author changed his mind. He soon realized that there was potential for the film to be better than the book.
Hemon’s feature describes the obstacles faced by “Cloud Atlas” as poetic, and posits that “In the Wachowski’s work, the forces of evil are often overwhelming powerful, inflicting misery on humans, who maintain their faith until they’re saved by an unexpected miracle. The story of the making of ‘Cloud Atlas’ fits this narrative trajectory pretty well.”
Hamon’s feature is available for purchase here. “Cloud Atlas” will premiere at Toronto before opening nationwide on October 26. Watch the trailer below:
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