Tom Hanks Reveals Which Film Critics Completely Missed the Point

Tom Hanks burst onto the scene in 1984 with Splash, starring opposite Daryl Hannah in the Academy Award-nominated romantic comedy. The film's success launched him into Hollywood's upper echelon. Big followed in 1988, cementing his status as a box office draw.

The 1990s belonged to Hanks. A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, the original Toy Story, and Saving Private Ryan dominated theaters. Back-to-back Oscar wins for Philadelphia in 1993 and Forrest Gump in 1994 sealed his reputation. Recent projects include Elvis, Pinocchio, and Asteroid City. His warm demeanor and distinctive voice earned him the nickname "America's Dad."

Defending His Vision

Critics sometimes target Hanks for romanticizing mid-20th century America. During a New York Times interview, he faced questions about the "nostalgia" threading through his filmography. The interviewer noted how that same nostalgia has "curdled for so many Americans into retrograde politics."

Hanks pivoted to Cloud Atlas, his 2012 collaboration with the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer. The ambitious sci-fi epic divided critics and audiences alike. "I was in a movie called Cloud Atlas that went right over everybody's heads," Hanks said. "It said, 'What is the point of trying to do the right thing when it's just a drop in the ocean?' But what is an ocean but a multitude of drops?"

The Message Behind the Madness

The film featured Hugh Grant, Halle Berry, Ben Whishaw, Susan Sarandon, Jim Broadbent, and Jim Sturgess across multiple timelines. Many reviewers dismissed it as overly ambitious and confusing.

"Things get better when a multitude of drops form an ocean and sweep things away," Hanks explained. "World War II: The Nazis were defeated, as was the Japanese empire, because enough good people said no. Civil rights came about because of, I think, an American belief that our responsibility as citizens is to work toward making a more perfect union."

Standing by American Progress

Hanks defended his career choices by explaining his "fascination with the progress that America has made in all these incremental moments. That is an American sense of what is right and what is wrong."

Co-star Halle Berry championed the project during promotional interviews. She called it a "once in a lifetime filmmaking experience" and told Flicks and Bits: "Cloud Atlas will always be incredibly special. I'm going to always remember the experience and everything I got from it. I love its originality, the originality of everything. There are so many barriers being broken here, so many exciting concepts and, hopefully, it will leave people thinking about how they perceive the world and their own lives."

The film never achieved cult status. Maybe it still will.