Ever since the early days of cinema, there have always a series of books which while incredibly popular, have always been considered unfilmable. That being said, quite a lot of them have reached the big screen with varying degrees of success.

With Ang Lee picking up the best director Oscar for Life of Pi this weekend, the advances in technology and a certain amount of imagination means that more of these stories might well start seeing the light of day.

A lot of this is down to the quality of the adaptation, with both Pi and Silver Linings Playbook this year proving that it can be done well. However the sheer scale of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas would have put most filmmakers off.

Cloud Atlas is a series of interconnected stories linked by characters who share a comet-shaped birthmark – starting in the 18th century, through to the distant future.

The idea being that different generations may be recinarnations or linked to earlier characters. This is shown by having the same actors playing different roles in each story.

The main six stories are a lawyer (Jim Sturgess) being poisoned by his supposed friend (Tom Hanks) to get access to his riches on a ship journey back to England.

An ambitious composer (Ben Whishaw) in the 1930s creating his own masterpiece by working with a famous musician (Jim Broadbent).

A journalist (Halle Berry) in the 70s uncovering a conspiracy at a nuclear plant. A hapless publisher (Broadbent) in 2012 finding himself trapped in a nursing home thanks to his devious brother (Hugh Grant).

A futuristic human-shaped robot (Doona Bae) becoming an unwitting revolutionary in 2144 and a goatherd (Hanks) helping a scientist (Berry) call help to save a dying planet 150 years after that.

The film is an extraordinarily ambitious undertaking, which succeeds and fails in equal measure.

The first hour is hard to follow, especially if you haven’t read the book. However once you settle into the piece it really is a very effective and epic piece of filmmaking, and despite its length holds your attention. It is unlike any film you will see in a while, and the filmmakers should be commended for bringing it to life.

The cast are all excellent, each playing under various layers of prosthesis in certain guises and, a few dodgy accents aside, bring something different to each role, and while there is no stand out - Grant has never been better, playing a series of nasty characters throughout the ages. It’s a bold and daring film, which will divide audiences and critics but one which you really have to see.

8/10

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