“Cloud Atlas”: A Closer Look

Of all of the films this year, and of the decade perhaps, not one is as original, daring, or as flat
out ballsy as Cloud Atlas, the ambitious epic from the Wachowski siblings and Tom Tykwer
and based off David Mitchell’s best selling novel. Weaving together six narratives that span
centuries, the film creates one emotional arch in a way that has never been done before and
it’s something you have never seen and probably will never see again at the movies. Though
we can’t get enough of this masterpiece here at Reel Reactions, the film flopped at the box
office, grossing a weak $9.4 million opposite a massive $100 million budget. However, there
is still time to see this one-of-a-kind wonder, so this weekend give this ambitious piece of art
a chance and join us as we take a closer look at the characters of Cloud Atlas:

Tom Hanks (Dr. Henry Goose, Hotel Manager, Isaac Sachs, Dermot Hoggins, Cavendish-
Look-a-Like Actor, Zachry)

Of all the different characters repeating through the six storylines, Tom Hanks’ characters
have the clearest arc. His is a journey of temptation, redemption, and the universal struggle to
do the right thing. He has a clear arc from the villain of the first storyline into the hero of the
final one, and we see his character in other timelines struggle with his selfish tendencies and
his desire to be a better person. We also witness the powerful influence that outside forces,
such as love, can have on these characters and the affect they can have on their actions

We are first introduced to Hanks as Dr. Henry Goose in 1850, a seemingly kind and eccentric
doctor who is nice enough to offer his services to Adam. However, as the story progresses we
learn that Dr. Goose has ulterior motives: he wants the gold Adam is carrying with him and
he has been slowly poisoning Adam throughout their journey in order to take it. Here we see
Tom Hanks at his most reprehensible. He is a man that is completely in tune with his greed
and selfishness, one who no qualms about poisoning Adam and attempting to kill the
stowaway slave, Auata. There is no shred of disgust or repulsion at his actions; he believes
himself completely justified due to his superior intellect as a doctor, and as he says himself,
“The weak are meat, and the strong do eat.”  Part of these actions can also be attributed to his
lack of a relationship with Halle Berry’s character. It is clear from his actions in the future
storylines that all the characters played by Halle Berry have a significant affect on Tom
Hank’s character. It is through their interactions that the goodness in his soul is able to
overcome the domineering temptation he feels at every turn, and she inspires him to rise
above his station and think of others over himself.

We next see him in the 1930’s storyline as the manager of the hotel that Robert Frobisher
spends his last days in. Here he is not so overtly evil, but his natural tendencies for greed and
money are just as apparent. He takes advantage of Frobisher’s legal problems and extorts
him. Again, in this storyline he has no relationship with Halle Berry and therefore he has
given into his temptations without looking back, and he also has no reason to question his
actions and no outside force to influence him, so he gives into his base desires.

Then in 1970, he is Isaac Sachs, a physicist at the nuclear power company, and it’s here that
we begin to see a change in this character’s progression from villain to hero. Before he walks
into the office and meets Luisa Rey, Isaac is comfortable with his job, even though he has
knowledge of the company’s plan to intentionally blow up a nuclear reactor. However, once
he meets Luisa Rey (played by, yes you guessed it, Halle Berry) his positive qualities
overwhelm his negative ones as he sees what Luisa Rey is willing to sacrifice in order to do
what’s right and it shakes him to his core. He instantly recognizes the inhumanity of the
company’s dealings and his part in it, and, as a result, he takes action to repair his mistakes,
which ironically ends up costing him his life. It is in this storyline that we are able to make
the connection of how Dr. Goose can be the same man as Zachry, Hanks’ character in the last
way future storyline, for we see that he doesn’t change on his own, but it is through the
influence of Halle Berry that he is able to overcome the oppression of temptation and greed.
You see, in the 2012 storyline, Dermot Hoggins only shares a brief glance with Halle Berry’s
party guest, and therefore his negative tendencies overrule his desire to change.  He doesn’t
have the outside influence he needs to change, so nothing holds him back from throwing the
critic off the balcony. It’s also possible to assume that this action was partially motivated by
greed since the critic was standing in the way of his book becoming successful. His character
in the Neo-Seoul storyline is a bit of an outlier because we don’t see more than a quick
glimpse of him. It’s not until the After-the-Fall storyline where his transformation from
villain to hero is truly completed.

When we first meet Zachry we are immediately reminded of his self-serving nature through
the murder of his brother-in-law and nephew by the Kona. When the Kona arrive and begin
to toy with his brother-in-law, Zachry’s first tendency is to hide rather than fight back, proof
that he thinks of himself rather than others and that he is unwilling to risk his own life for his
family. However, as he meets Meronym (Halle Berry), he begins to change and begins to
understand the importance of sacrifice and starts to believe in the greater good. It’s extremely
interesting to watch because Meronym and Old Georgie serve as the angel and devil on
Zachry’s shoulders, constantly telling him to do the opposite of the other, but it is through
Zachry’s love for Meronym and his willingness to change that he is able to overcome the
temptations that he has succumbed to for thousands of years. The strength that she displays
throughout their journey together helps him push past the temptation he’s succumbed to time
after time, life after life.

Hugo Weaving (Haskell Moore, Tadeusz Kesselring, Bill Smoke, Nurse Noakes,
Boardman Mephi, Old Georgie)

While the majority of the characters in Cloud Atlas have adapting personalities and arcs
throughout the six different stories, the characters played by Hugo Weaving are almost
universally unchanging. In each of the six storylines, Hugo Weaving’s characters serve as the
representation of oppression and the stubbornness of those in power. You see, there is a clear
theme throughout the six different storylines, and while they may each focus on largely
different events and people, at their core each storyline is about the human spirit’s fight
against oppression, and in every storyline Hugo Weavings character serves as the physical
representation of said subjugation.
In the 1850 storyline he plays Haskel Moore, the father in law of Jim Sturgess’ Adam Ewing.
Moore is the writer of an immensely popular book about the nature of the white man versus
the black man, and how the black man is comfortable and happy being subservient to the
white man. It’s through Adam’s journey at sea and his interactions with Autua that he learns
that his father in law is wrong and manages to fight back against his father in law and stand
up for what’s right. He plays Tadeusz Kesselring in the 1930’s storyline, a Nazi who is a
colleague of Vyvyan Ayrs. While he doesn’t play a major role, by merely being a Nazi he is
endorsing the act of oppressing an entire race of people.  Then in the 1970’s storyline he
plays Bill Smoke, the assassin that the nuclear power company sends after Luisa Rey. In this
storyline he serves as the physical tool that those in power use to oppress the people and
achieve their goals.

Then he is nearly unrecognizable as Nurse Noakes, the unflappable woman that forces
Timothy Cavendish to stay in the old person’s home against his will, acting under the
assumption that the old are nothing but weak, meager creatures who should be locked up for
the remainder of their lives. Then in Neo-Seoul he is the head of Unanimity, the government
in control of Neo-Seoul. He is the head of the ruling class which takes the saying “The weak
are meat and the strong do eat” quite literally as they recycle fabricants by feeding them to
one another. Finally, in the After-the-Fall storyline, he is the physical representation of the
temptation that Tom Hank’s character faces, presented in the form of his religion’s version of
the devil.

His characters are all representative of the worst qualities of humanity, the qualities that each
of the main characters need to rise above in order to save themselves and humanity as a
whole. Had Tom Hanks not resisted the temptation that Hugo Weaving’s Old Georgie
represented, then the human race would have died out. In each storyline, Weaving is the
physical object standing in the way of humanity reaching a higher, coexistent plane. While
there are a variety of different things at stake, some big and some small, each victory
represents a step forward for humanity and a step closer to achieving the peace and prosperity
that each character inevitably dreams of and achieves thanks to the sacrifice and struggles of
Zachary and Meroynm in the After-the Fall Storyline.

.
Doona Bae (Tilda, Megan’s Mom, Mexican Woman, Somni-451, Somni-351) & Jim
Sturgess (Adam Ewing, Poor Hotel Guest, Megan’ Dad, Highlander, Hae-Joo Chang,
Adam)

While you could easily dedicate two different sections to these actors and the different
characters they play, it is especially interesting to examine them as a pair, in part because
their two souls are more intrinsically entwined than any of the other characters thanks to their
transcending love. The foundation of these two characters and their arcs is the idea of the
boundlessness of love, that love is as everlasting as time and forms a bond so strong it leads
you to one another life after life.

The relationship between Jim Sturgess’ characters and Doona Bae’s are especially interesting
because it is through their mutual love that they are able to stand up to the oppression that
surrounds them. Like the Halle Berry/Tom Hanks relationship, their relationship gives them
strength and purpose, and without each other they are no more than average, everyday
citizens, while together they are able to change the world.

The most screen-time is devoted to their relationship in the Neo-Seoul storyline. It is here we
see the influence and affect that these two souls have on one another. Jim Sturgess’ Hae-Joo
Chang is the one who initially saves Somni-451 from her tank and he recognizes the power
she can bring to the Union’s side, but he also recognizes her as a fellow human being rather
than a tank born fabricant and diner slave. As their relationship develops so does their
influence on one another, and we see their relationship grow from their initial meeting to the
point where they are madly in love and completely devoted to one another.  He educates her,
shows her the way the world operates, and gives her the strength to stand up against the
oppressing society. He believes in her so fervently that she is able to sacrifice herself in order
to spread her message of peace and change the course of the world. Meanwhile, he is given
purpose by their relationship and the reversal of their roles. At first, Chang is in control of
their relationship, he saves her from captivity multiple times and ensures that she is safely
delivered to the Union. However, once she is shown the “fabricant meat factory”, she
understands what is necessary to change this inhumane society, and Chang is willing to
follow her to the very end; he is so devoted that he risks and loses his life in order to ensure
that she is able to spread her message.
At the beginning of the 1850 storyline, it appears that Doona Bae has no part to play and it
initially seems to be a self-contained story dealing with Adam’s journey. The majority of the
story takes place on the ship and deals with Adam’s struggles to overcome the abuse and
poison of Dr. Goose. Throughout the voyage we hear Adam constantly mention his wife and
how he needs to be cured so he can make it back to San Francisco to his beloved. He is sad to
part with his wedding ring because of his “parasite,” and he constantly gazes longingly at his
painting of her. His undying love for her is what gives him the strength to carry on and fight
Dr. Goose in order to save his own life, it gives him purpose similar to how Somni gives
Chang purpose in the future. He is so determined by love that he is willing to do whatever it
takes, even if it means risking his own life.

However, we don’t ever see the wife until the end of the story where it’s revealed in an
amazing sequence that his wife is none other than Tilda, played under heavy makeup by
Doona Bae. The fact that this reveal bookends the Neo-Seoul storyline is what makes it
especially brilliant. Because we have already watched their entire relationship develop from
beginning to end in another life is what makes the lack of screen-time of their relationship in
1850 completely irrelevant. By the time the 1850 reveal comes around, we already know
what attracts these two characters together and what their dynamic is, so it’s entirely
believable that they would stand up to her father for what’s right in the past.

What’s especially interesting are the immense differences in the characters they play that
have no interaction with one another. In the 1970 storyline, Doona Bae plays the Mexican
woman who owns the factory that Luisa Rey uses to escape Bill Smoke, and in 2012 Jim
Sturgess plays the highlander at the bar. It’s extremely interesting to see these characters that
seem so different from Somni-451 and Chang yet are played by the same actors. At first, it’s
difficult to make a connection, but once you dig deep enough you find that the characters
share a lot in common, while also harboring some significant differences.

The most evident is their willingness to fight against the oppressive state. In the 70’s story,
the Mexican woman saves Luisa Rey from Bill Smoke by smashing him over the head with a
wrench, and in 2012, the highlander is the first to fight back against Nurse Noakes and the
other members of the elderly home, even going as far as to smash a barrel over Noakes head
(see the connection?). Already there is a close connection between these two as they both
save the heroes of their respective stories from the oppressive force played by Hugo
Weaving. They step up when they are needed most and are still willing to fight against those
who oppress others, but they are both slightly unhinged, and extremely more violent than
Somni and Chang. They seem to lack the purpose and strength of their lives where they do
meet. They seem to be more apathetic and reactive rather than actively pursuing change.
Though they still have that desire in them, as evidenced by their individual fights against
Hugo Weaving, it is not as concentrated and resolute as their actions when they are together.

Halle Berry (Native Woman, Jocasta Arys, Luisa Rey, Indian Party Guest, Ovid,
Meronym) 

Halle Berry’s six representations throughout time display her soul’s evolutionary growth in
strength, courage, and personal security spanning from a native woman in 1849 to the savior
of the human race’s future in a post-apocalyptic storyline taking place ‘After the Fall.’ In
addition to a clear change in her soul’s progression through time, Halle Berry’s six characters
are also, many times, directly connected to some characters portrayed by Tom Hanks. Like
other characters played by Jim Sturgess and Donna Bae (as previously discussed), the
relationship between Hanks and Berry’s souls are eternally connected through time and that
connection is what makes Hanks go from a destructive and selfish, murdering doctor to a
brave tribesman and what makes Berry go from an insignificant slave to one of humanity’s
most important figures.

In the earliest set storyline of 1849, Berry’s role is a blink-and-you-miss-it performance as

she dons facial markings and short, gray hair. She makes brief eye contact with Jim
Sturgess’s Adam Ewing as he peruses the plantation fields, and she gives a memorable face
to the nameless slaves that are employed by the immoral Reverend Giles Horrox (Hugh
Grant). She’s severely underdeveloped, but is visibly affected by the slavery-related
oppression of the times and her look toward the conflicted Ewing arguably instigates the
sympathetic mindset that allows Ewing to form a saving relationship with the self-freed slave,
Autua.
After nearly a century has passed, Halle Berry takes the form of Jocasta Ayrs, the wife to
famed British composer, Vyvyan Ayrs. In a virtually unrecognizable performance, Berry
plays the white and Jewish Ayrs, whose loving relationship with her sick composer husband
has nearly crumbled completely. The unsettled composer’s fading health has forced Jocasta
into being Vyvyan’s nurse as opposed to his wife, and when up and coming composer and
amanuensis Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw) enters their household to assist with Vyvyan’s
composing future, she is drawn to him sexually and thanks the young man for bringing love
back into the Ayrs’ household. Internally distraught by her marital status, her composure and
confidence widdled to the edge, she performs an adulterous act proving to be slightly more
developed than her previous soul embodiment, but still oppressed because of her sustained
household life and because of the times (a Jewish woman living in the late 1930s).

In 1973, Berry’s soul reaches a peak as she becomes Spyglass journalist Luisa Rey, who is
following a lead about a mistreated nuclear reactor that, upon explosion, could end hundred,
probably thousands, of human lives. She encounters characters from previous storylines
(James D’Arcy’s Rufus Sixsmith) and new ones, most notably Dr. Issac Sacs, played by Tom
Hanks. In this first encounter between Hanks’ and Berry’s souls, the two of them are
massively influenced to progress through the future in certain ways. Sacs decides to help Rey
and it costs him his life, while this human act reverberates on Rey’s end by having her get
closer and closer, inch by inch, to understanding the plot of nuclear reactor’s potential
destruction. Rey is a woman whose biggest fear is not living up to her father’s reputation as
one of the finest journalists, and we see her visibly conflicted regarding the decisions she
makes and her skills as a journalist. Upon her publishing the story that will unravel the
potential crisis, she has found her courage and her strength while her former cowardice takes
a back seat and her soul begins a rich foray into the next time periods.
In another brief appearance, like in the 1849 storyline, Berry appears as an Indian party guest
attending the Lemon Awards in 2012 London. She locks eyes for a couple seconds with
sensitive Scottish gangster-turned-author Dermot Hoggins, again played by Hanks.  They
share a look of recognition, but one that is not sustained long enough to stop Hanks’ soul
from turning to the destructive forces of temptation. Hoggins proceeds to throw his book’s
critic off the balcony, splattering him on the street below, and the film seems to suggest this
could have been avoided had that look of recognition expanded into something more
personal. By 2012, it has become apparent that Berry’s and Hanks’ souls are destined to be
connected through time and it will be a combination of her confidence and his desire to
overcome temptation that will finally unite them once and for all.

Like Tom Hanks who appears in the 2144 Neo Seoul storyline, Halle Berry appears briefly as
Dr. Ovid, and in heavy prosthetics Berry portrays a disfigured, futuristic male doctor. While
her appearance is brief (and, again, not easily recognizable), her purpose in the Neo Seoul
storyline, in which she frees Sonmi-451 from her fabricant collar, is a strong act, a factor in
what allows Sonmi-451’s courage to instigate a rebellion against the future’s Unanimity and
directly affects the lifetime of Maronym, Berry’s final portrayal within in the six storylines.

In the ‘After the Fall’ storyline, Berry’s Maronym and Hanks’ Zachry work together, much to
Zachry’s dislike originally, to eventually save the future of humanity in this post-apocalyptic
world, and their time together eventually ignites a romance that leads to their souls’ eternal
happiness. Maronym, inspired by the confidence that she found as Luisa Rey centuries
before, has officially transformed over the six storylines and the fated romance between
Berry and Hanks that has been nodded toward in the previous lifetimes finally comes to
complete fruition. This all prosperously occurs once Hanks has fought off his previous
temptations and Berry has gained the strength of six lifetimes.

Ben Whishaw (Cabin Boy, Robert Frobisher, Store Clerk, Georgette, Tribesman) 

Ben Whishaw’s progression through time is very different when aligning him with his co-
stars’ arcs. Unlike the characters that become stronger, or more confident, or show very little
to no change at all, Ben Whishaw’s characters all show a definite connection to one another
in that they are almost in direct contact with one another. It’s an odd connection that
Whishaw’s characters share, but it’s one that is cleverly devised by the Wachowskis and Tom
Tykwer, therefore making it one of the more unique choices within the character construction
of Cloud Atlas.

Inarguably, Ben Whishaw’s most prominent character in Cloud Atlas is Robert Frobisher, the
homosexual amanuensis in 1936 who works for Vyvyan Ayrs and is describing his romance
with beloved Rufus Sixsmith through his heartfelt written letters. In the life previous, he rode
aboard the same ship that was carrying Adam Ewing back to San Francisco. Though nothing
but a lineless cabin boy who has a brief abusive scene where the ship’s captain pushes him
into the galley wall, Frobisher is seen reading Ewing’s personal journal that has been
published by 1936. In a letter to Sixsmith, Frobisher describes the affection he has toward the
published journal and how upset he is that the copy he has dug into is unfinished with
numerous pages missing. He feels a connection to Ewing’s account because he too, in 1849,
was aboard that same ship, therefore it must create some sort of subconscious nostalgia that is
allowing Frobisher to, unknowingly, feel connected to the seafaring voyage and become
inclined to ‘learn’ of Ewing’s trials and tribulations.

In 1973, Luisa Rey ventures into a music store to inquire about the ‘Cloud Atlas Sextet,’
which was the only released composition by Robert Frobisher before he committed suicide in
1936. In the music store, the ‘Cloud Atlas Sextet’ is playing and the store’s clerk shows an
obvious affection for the track’s beauty and significance to him personally – mainly because
the clerk is also played by Ben Whishaw. The clerk’s desire to regularly listen to the ‘Cloud
Atlas Sextet’ stems from the fact that in a previous life he was the one who actually wrote
and composed this gorgeous musical selection. Berry acknowledges the loveliness of the
music and her belief that she must have heard the music somewhere before (she did, in a
previous life as Jocasta Ayrs listening to Frobisher compose the piece in her home), but it’s
the clerk’s love for the piece that is far more interesting because his deep connection to the
music, which he can’t logically understand, parallels his connection to the identity of his
former life.

Now the role Whishaw takes on in the 2012 storyline is very intriguing, a decision that I think
is wonderfully constructed by the Wachowskis and Tykwer. In the 1936 storyline when
Frobisher shows Vyvyan Ayrs the nearly completed ‘Cloud Atlas Sextet,’ they share a mildly
homoerotic moment that Frobisher mistakes for deliberate romance and he begins to come
onto Ayrs. Ayrs refutes the motion and laughs in Frobisher’s face, forcing the young
composer into embarrassment and threatening to leave the Ayrs’ home the following
morning. Years later, in 2012, Whishaw plays a female character, the wife of Denholme
Cavendish (Hugh Grant), who is the brother of Timothy Cavendish, the leading character of
this storyline played by Jim Broadbent. Interestingly, Whishaw’s Georgette Cavendish has
cheated on Denny with Timothy, creating an even deeper schism than what already resides in
their brotherly relationship. In 1936, Whishaw’s soul attempted to make sexual advances
toward Broadbent’s Vyvyan Ayrs, but he rejected them with a bold laugh and deprecating
accusations. In 2012, Broadbent’s soul has had a change of heart and accepted those previous
advances once Whishaw’s soul had taken a more acceptable form: A woman. Therefore, the
eroticism that has flared up between both Whishaw and Broadbent through time periods has
been fulfilled by 2012. ‘After the Fall,’ Whishaw simply plays a tribesman, one that
resembles his role as the ship’s cabin boy in 1849, demonstrating a possible descent back
toward the role of that previous lifetime.

Whishaw’s soul moves through time in a far less linear fashion than other actors do in Cloud
Atlas.Yet, instead of a negative cosine curve that leads Whishaw’s soul back to the same kind
of role it possessed in 1849, hopefully he will progress through all the following lifetimes in
the direction of a sine curve allowing him to progress upward like he did in the first few soul
embodiments.

Hugh Grant (Rev. Giles Horrox, Hotel Heavy, Lloyd Hooks, Denholme Cavendish, Seer
Rhee, Kona Chief) 

What’s one of the most original choices about Cloud Atlas? Having British rom-com actor
Hugh Grant play six villainous roles through each of the six distinct time periods. From 1849
to ‘After the Fall,’ Grant’s characters get substantially more villainous with their motives
greatly affecting the leading characters of each storyline. However, what makes Grant’s six
characters interesting is that the way they get more villainous in not in the traditional sense of
cinematic villainy, but they get substantially more savage to the point where the last two
characters in Grant’s soul’s arc don’t even have any lines.

In 1849, Grant plays Reverend Giles Horrox, a dishonorable and immoral Reverend who
sponsors the colonizing voyage that Adam Ewing is venturing on. His views of the
contemporary world of 1849 very much aligns with those of Haskel Moore (one of Hugh
Weaving’s embodiments) who sees the African Americans as subservient and women merely
one step higher on the human hierarchy chart. Though second to Tom Hanks’ horrible Dr.
Henry Goose in this storyline, the Reverend displays his subtle evilness through his sly
niceties and politeness to the naïve Adam Ewing.

In 1936, Grant plays the Hotel Heavy who bangs on Robert Frobisher’s door in a Cambridge
hotel threatening the young man with a call to his father. Grant’s turn as the Hotel Heavy is
his least memorable of the six performances, but he demonstrates a tame form of villainy
within the time period and specifically to the main character of Robert Frobisher in 1936. The
savage difference between Reverend Horrox and the Hotel Heavy differs very little, but the
subtle evilness is prevalent. In 1973, Grant’s character is much more overtly evil as his
smarminess becomes very obvious and his selfishness and lack of care for human life starts to
creep toward the forefront. He plays Lloyd Hooks, the CEO of nuclear facility that owns an
unstable nuclear reactor that Hooks intends on letting explode to benefit the oil companies.
Hooks knows that the more people that are affected and the more people that die due to the
reactor’s destruction, the better for the oil’s companies. This unbelievable carelessness for
human life, combined with his apparent slimy demeanor and statements (a bizarre crack at
Women’s Literature to Berry’s Luisa Rey is particularly lame sexism) show a dangerous man
with lots of power.  Hooks is a visibly evil man with despicable aims and motives.

In 2012, Grant plays the brother of Jim Broadbent’s Timothy Cavendish, Denholme
Cavendish. Addressed by his brother with a plea for some lifesaving cash, Denny at first tries
to shoo Timothy away until he realizes that he could use this opportunity to selfishly extract
revenge on his sibling who he knows has slept with his frigid wife, Georgette (Ben
Whishaw). Denny tells Timothy he has a safe place for him to hide while he works on getting
the money that Timothy wants to borrow, but the safe house is actually a caretaking home for
the elderly and unstable. Timothy is tricked into being subjected to the abusive treatments of
Nurse Noakes (Hugo Weaving) all due to Denny’s conniving little scheme. Though Denny’s
nasty decisions are relegated to a far more sustained environment in the 2012 storyline, it’s
the gross satisfaction he earns from knowing that his own brother is being subject to ‘criminal
abuse’ that makes him an individually more selfish, and therefore savage, person. While
Lloyd Hooks may be a more evil character in a broader and more traditional sense, Grant’s
soul’s arc grows to be far more diabolical and despicable.

In the 2144 plot in Neo Seoul, Grant plays Seer Rhee, the overseer of the restaurant where
fabricants, specifically Sonmi-451 (Doona Bae), are employed. It is in this character that we
see a massive transition in soul structure and a definitive savagery, in the classic definition of
the term, develops within his formation. Seer Rhee is a soap user (soap is a major intoxicant
in this future) and a sex addict who uses his fabricant employees to quench his sexual desires.
In one sequence, Sonmi-451 spots him making gross, cringe-inducing love to Yoona-939
(Xun Zhou) and then pass out because of his soap addiction. When Yoona-939 breaks
protocol and speaks back to a consumer, she attempts to flee the restaurant but Seer Rhee,
with little hesitation, detonates her property collar and a deep slice in her neck causes her to
bleed to death. Seer Rhee’s more neanderthalic characteristics are the signifiers a far more
simple existence, one of little meaning or authority or overwhelming power. A Reverend,
Cambridge hotel authority, business CEO, and even a wealthy Englishman are all relatively
powerful types of people and Seer Rhee is a departure showing the obvious descent of
importance and scope of evil. Seer Rhee is a small role, but in just little time we are witness
to his savage mentality and decisions, which are exponentially more horrific in the sixth and
final character played by Hugh Grant.

‘After the Fall,’ in a post-apocalyptic future, Hugh Grant returns as the Kona Chief, who is a
literal savage. Dressed in Native American-inspired garb, face paint, riding horses and
fighting with machetes and arrows, the Kona are a cannibalistic tribe that consistently
threaten the livelihood of the Valleymen, a sector of humanity that resembles a hunting and
gathering community; these people are a substantially less sophisticated designation of
society with an dialect containing the linguistic depth of a very early elementary school
student. There are more technologically advanced forms of society in this time period (Halle
Berry’s Maronym is of this type) that can reach far away places off-world. Yet, the Koda are
the least civilized of any human-like people living in this time period. They specialize in
mass murder and are built on greed and individualized survival in the moment and probably
wouldn’t be afraid of killing a member of their own kind. The Koda Chief murders Zachry’s
(Tom Hanks) brother-in-law and son-in-law as well as his wife before burning his village to
the ground. Though he is eventually murdered at the a revenge-seeking Zachry, in his
moments on the screen, the Koda Chief is a disgusting form of humanity that can only be
labeled as an outright savage. He is a brutal version of society at its lowest form in a dim
future at the brink of extinction.

In his six characters, Hugh Grant shows a decrease in complexity, morality, sensibility, and
civility over the course of thousands of years playing out in six specific time periods. Similar
to Hugo Weaving who’s characters all embody a time period-specific form of natural order
and condescending truths, Hugh Grant portrays six embodiments of evil, but the form of evil
evolves as time goes on, from subtle and tame to frightening and barbaric.