The Time Traveler’s Wife is out on DVD
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Out on DVD: The Time Traveler’s Wife (12)
By Anna RobertsFebruary 03, 2010
Stars Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams, Ron Livingston, Michelle Nolden
Beloved novels are tricky to bring to life in film – but people will try because if everyone who loves the book comes to see the movie then that is a lot of cash.
The Time Traveler’s Wife, released imminently, is an example of this. I confess, I found the novel tedious and gave up mid-way through. But practically everyone else I have spoken to loved Audrey Niffenegger’s book, a love story spanning decades and crossing time zones.
The film, starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams, did not receive such rapturous applause.
This is partly because the book is challenging to bring to life and, although the lead actors, scriptwriters and producers clearly tried hard, it never quite gets there.
Henry (Bana) first learns he can time travel after he witnesses the crash which killed his mum from another perspective.
Years on – and he is now a regular time traveller – it is clear that his mother’s violent and untimely death affected him.
Then, while working as a librarian, he meets Claire (McAdams).
She races over to him and tells him they have met in the past when he is an older man. Perplexed he believes her and the duo begin a relationship based both on the past and the future.
But it is difficult maintaining a marriage when your husband pops off to different dimensions regularly and without warning.
Henry’s knowledge of the future also impacts on Claire – but they are tied together in ways which they cannot begin to explain.
The premise for The Time Traveler’s Wife is undoubtedly ridiculous. What is also crazy is the ease with which characters in the film accept Henry can span time –
I personally would not believe him even if he did vanish in front of me.
The Time Traveler’s Wife is a love story. But people who are desperate for a perfect ending will be disappointed.
It is, despite its ridiculous premise, a story about marriage and children and is often far from happy.
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