The Power of Makeup

Actor Hugh Grant as a member of KISS.

Yesterday afternoon I spent three hours in a dark theater and was transported to several other worlds, each one far more interesting than Portland, Maine. In one of those rare instances a movie worked its magic, making me forget my real life for a while. So far, "Cloud Atlas" has not been a box-office hit, and that's likely because it's a real head-scratcher, posing questions that never get answered, which many people find annoying. But if you are willing to just watch and wonder, and think it's fun to see a few actors play a host of characters, it's worth the money and the time invested.

The downright silly script, based on a book of the same name by David Mitchell, touches on themes of life, death, reincarnation, the soul, the past, the future, friendship, family, and the importance of brushing and flossing. (There are some really bad teeth in this movie, just so you know.) What happens after we die, what happened before we were born, and how Hugh Grant keeps getting hired are just a few of the deep questions you'll be asking yourself long after the final credits. Be forewarned, it's Tom Hanks and Halle Berry from beginning to end, so if you can't stomach those two, stay away. But several of the supporting actors deliver subtle and stunning performances, and the sets and costumes are distracting enough that you don't really care what anyone is saying, which is a good thing since most of the dialogue is unintelligible. For the older generation there's an added bonus: trying to follow the convoluted story lines might just help you stave off Alzheimer's. I plan to see it again soon.