Because Cloud Atlas
(now playing) is such a multifaceted film, it is difficult to determine which
of its aspects is most deserving of my immediate attention.
Certainly, its actors must be commended. Tom Hanks, Halle
Berry, and Hugo Weaving (to name a few) each adopt several different roles,
which, when totaled, must account for nearly twenty individual characters. If
that were not impressive enough, each of these characters is from a different period
in history, and each possesses a unique personality, intellect, social standing,
and vernacular. Hugo Weaving, for example, manages to execute the role of an assassin
in one story; then, in another, he dons an apron and converts into a female
nurse who intimidates and abuses the residents at an assisted-living home.
Such transformations, however, though achieved brilliantly
by the cast, would not have been possible without the physical alterations
created using makeup and costumes. Indeed, these modifications enable the
actors to morph seamlessly into characters of varied ages, ethnicities, and
genders, while maintaining enough of their original features so that they are
recognizable. There are a few glitches in this process, of course (Hugo
Weaving, try as he may, cannot mask the fact that he is a man, though this only
adds to the comedy of that particular story), but, overall, it works very well.
