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Starring |
Eric Bana
,
Rachel McAdams
,
Arliss Howard
,
Ron Livingston
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Directed By |
Robert Schwentke
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Audio
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Dolby Digital 5.1
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Visuals
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1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
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Running Time |
103 mins
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UK Release Date |
February 8, 2010
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Genre |
Romance, Sci-fi
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Our Rating |
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User Rating |
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We have all probably fantasised about time travelling at some point but few would envy Eric Bana’s Henry. This is a case of time traveller as victim. He is afflicted with Chrono-Displacement, a rare (fortunately fictional) genetic condition which sees him occasionally time travel on random occasions, almost without any warning.
Even worse, like The Terminator or somebody having just undergone a werewolf or (as Bana has himself) Incredible Hulk transformation, his clothes perish in the process. Henry thus periodically finds himself thrust into the middle of nowhere, in the buff and not knowing whether he’s in the age of iPods or Watergate.
Surely holding down a marriage under such circumstances would be impossible? Well, apparently not. Henry and artist Clare (McAdams) enjoy an unconventional relationship complicated by Henry’s occasional prolonged absences, his tendency to be older and younger at different times (usually denoted by variations in the length of his hair) and by the strange fact that they both first met each other on different occasions.
Confusing, eh? The plots to Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five or even TV’s Quantum Leap seems straightforward in comparison. Worse still, Clare’s first meeting with Henry occurs when she is still a child. The fact that a naked adult man approaching a six year old girl as she plays alone manages to come across as anything other than deeply sinister must count as something of a triumph for the filmmakers.
This is that rarest of things, a genuine sci-fi weepy. Unsurprisingly then, to begin with the accompanying 20-minute featurette ‘Time Traveler’s Wife: Love Beyond Words’ is just as mushy as it sounds. Happily, it improves, with director Schwentke and the cast (McAdams sounding like a genuine fan of the book) offering a few insights.
Admittedly, the film has been trimmed down a bit from the Audrey Niffenegger’s bestselling novel’s 500 or so pages. But while devotees of the book (and there are many) might quibble over this and a number of other fundamental plot changes, overall, it’s a credit to all involved that this actually make any sense at all.
Overall Verdict: It might slightly disappoint fans of the book, but in fact this is a competent adaptation of the Richard and Judy favourite.
Special Features:
Time Traveler’s Wife: Love Beyond Words Featurette
Reviewer: Chris Hallam
