The Time Traveler’s Wife

The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009): United States – Directed by Robert Schwentke

Rated PG-13 by the MPAA – contains some mild sexuality, naked bottoms, profanity, a little violence, and sadness

This time around I watched the movie before reading the book.  Recently I have been reading the book first, as I’ve done with the Harry Potter series, and I’m all read up and waiting for both The Road and The Lovely Bones.  I really wish I could have both experiences: reading the book first and also watching the movie first.  However, as I’m only aware of one universe the best I can do is change it up from time to time.

Aimee had read the book and loved it.  In fact, she wasn’t sure about seeing the movie, but after reading some mostly positive reviews she decided she wanted to see it.  And, since I’m a fan of movies and will watch just about anything, I didn’t mind.  Fortunately, it worked out fine.  Aimee thought it was an adequate adaptation, and I actually enjoyed it much more than I had anticipated.

The film stars Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams as the titular characters.  Their story is a love story, but also a tragedy.  Their lives play out on different timelines, as Clare (McAdams) moves through time in a straight line, in a way familiar to most of us.  Henry (Bana), on the other hand, jumps backward and forward through time.  From a tragic car accident at age six he discovers that he occasionally disappears, fading away then reappearing naked somewhere (and sometime) else.  He stays near important places and events, so he’s usually in Chicago and not too far from loved ones.  But there’s nothing he can do, except steal clothes and figure out what year it is.

Clare first meets Henry when she’s six and he’s thirty-something.  He, of course, has known her for years, meeting her first when he was slightly younger and she was about eighteen.  This continues for a little while, but then they settle down as much as can be imagined.  Now, you might be thinking that this is a little confusing, and it may be at first.  However, it works, and that’s the important thing.  The focus here is not on the time traveling or the science fiction, it’s on the people and their relationships.  It’s as much about love as it is loss, since there is a great deal of both in the movie.

I doubt I would have been as engrossed in the film if it weren’t put together smartly.  Oftentimes in adaptations it can be difficult to capture the narrative of the novel and still pace the movie like a normal movie.  Not being burdened with knowledge of events in the book, I was able to easily follow the shifts in time and events that the movie went through.  The entire film flowed naturally, without confusion or feeling as though it were contrived.  The acting was adequate, with McAdams showing a slightly wider range of emotion than Bana, perhaps.  The supporting characters, too, are fine, with even Ron Livingston being convincing in a non-Office Space type role.  The directing and editing were perfectly non-intrusive, and even the special effects are handled effectively.

For some reason I was quite caught up in the tale of love and joy and pain.  It’s oftentimes very sad, and if the theater had been more full (we went at 11:00 AM) I’m sure I would have heard much sniffling in the audience.  It’s not entirely tragic, though, and we are left with a sense of hope as it ends.  It’s a rather thoughtful picture, too, most likely as a result of the source material.  Perhaps the saddest aspect of their romance is that they won’t have the opportunity to grow old together, as I greatly look forward to doing with my wife.  Regardless, it’s a very interesting story and one that I am glad I had the chance to get caught up in.