Thursday, August 20, 2009

The Time Traveler's Wife***

Starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana.
Rated PG-13.
Directed by Robert Schwentke.
Screenplay by Bruce Joel Rubin.
Based on the novel, "The Time Traveler's Wife," by Audrey Niffenegger.


* * *

From the time Henry (Eric Bana) was a young boy, he has inexplicably had the power to travel to the past or the future. He can’t seem to control where he travels to. He never knows when he will fade from the present and when he will return. Clare (Rachel McAdams) first meets Henry when she is six. He time travels into her backyard when he is 36. There the seeds are planted for their one-of-a-kind love story.

McAdams and Bana have palpable on-screen chemistry, although McAdams greatly outshines him in many scenes. Her acting is much more natural, genuine, believable. It’s easy to get lost in her character. Bana’s acting seems stiff and at times, awkward.

While the novel provides a level of understanding and richness that wasn’t carried over to the screen, the film still has plenty of charm. Scenes with six-year-old Clare, played by Brooklynn Proulx, and with Henry’s mother (Michelle Nolden), lend a magical feel to the film.

3 comments:

  1. YAY! I do agree....the book was better, but the movie was good to!

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  2. Having read the book, I have to say the movie fell a bit flat for me. Rachel McAdams is a gem with whatever character she portrays, so my complaints aren't with her. I agree that she outshines Bana.

    My high expectations may have brought that disappointment on as well.

    In most cases, it comes down to the book being better.

    :)

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  3. I first read “Time Travelers Wife” in the summer of 2005. I read the book, fell in love and recommended it to anyone that would listen! I later got wind that this unbelievable love story was going to become a movie and couldn’t wait to see how they could possibly create a movie based on a detailed, vivid love story.

    Since I last read the book almost 4 years ago, I decided to refresh my memory just before seeing the movie, and I am certainly glad I did. It is hard to judge this movie without some kind of bias. I loved this book so many years back and loved it even more the second time I read it, that the movie fell short in so many ways. Too many important details and events between Henry and Claire weren’t even touched on. I couldn’t imagine being a movie watcher without having read the book and not being in a cloud of confusion.

    I often times do not believe that the movie is as good as the book and I’m sure that many would agree. Although I would recommend the book “Time Travelers Wife” to anyone and everyone, this movie would get one star from me!

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