360

The ensemble drama 360 is loaded with talent on both sides of the camera. Unfortunately, almost all of them have done better work elsewhere.

The latest effort from Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles (City of God) and prolific British screenwriter Peter Morgan (The Queen) is a loose adaptation of the oft-filmed early 20th century German play La Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler.

The intercontinental compilation of talent is appropriate for this ambitious series of intertwined globetrotting tales of disparate people struggling to make connections — whether romantic, physical or emotional — and the loneliness and anguish that results.

Yet the episodic nature of the project keeps the character development to a minimum, and thus the emotional connection remains at a frustrating distance.

Among the cities visited by the screenplay are Vienna, Bratislava, Paris, London, Denver, Phoenix and Rio de Janeiro. It toys around with various social and economic issues, such as medical pandemics, the international banking crisis and the instability of European financial markets.

The story is launched by the contemplated infidelity of a high-powered and stressed out European businessman (Jude Law), whose wife (Rachel Weisz) already is being unfaithful herself.

Perhaps the best vignette takes place at an airport in Denver, where travelers are stranded thanks to a winter storm. That segment tracks a vulnerable young woman (Maria Flor) — with a connection to the aforementioned couple — who meets a recovering alcoholic (Anthony Hopkins) on her flight home. The two strike up a friendship, but she takes a liking instead to a nervous traveler (Ben Foster) with a dangerous past.

Morgan’s multilingual screenplay is intriguing more in segments than as a whole, and ultimately doesn’t add up to much. Meirelles, meanwhile, uses some visual trickery to spice up the action, including some unnecessary split screens along with some more ambitious camera movements.

The performances are generally compelling from a top-notch cast. As for the structure (think Babel, for reference) it feels clever and times and gimmicky at others, but the film ultimately is driven too much by its coincidences.

Despite its attempts to explore various themes in contemporary relationships, its muted emotional authenticity makes 360 feel more like a cosmopolitan travelogue than anything else.

Rated R, 110 minutes.