Robert Schwentke obviously faced a tough job adapting Niffenegger’s rich, layered novel for the screen, and while it often feels both lacking in depth and overcrowded, Hapless Time-Jumper Henry’s struggle to build a relationship with Clare, remains intact, and it’s here that the film genuinely scores points.
Make no mistake, there’s an awful lot crammed into a running time just short of 110 minutes, and some fairly important nuances are lost. The trailer’s hinted that it may be an overly sentimental cut and paste job, and this is unfortunately often true. The already complex narrative deserving far more breathing room than it’s given.
Luckily for Schwentke, Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams are pitch-perfect. Their conviction anchoring a genuinely compelling and often very moving old fashioned love story, which will surely strike a note with anyone who has ever been involved in a long distance relationship. The performances ring with honesty and display two fantastic performances that are gripping without ever resorting to unnecessary pyrotechnics.
The direction itself echoes this, being competent and un-showy, and while the photography may have more than a hint of Hollywood treacle about it, it never becomes too intrusive, resulting in a tale that, despite the obvious McGuffin, doesn’t feel constructed.
A perfectly cast, if workmanlike adaptation that unfortunately lacks the elegance and depth of the novel, The Time Traveller’s Wife is still a solid love story worthy of consideration.
4 Comments
I have agreed to go and watch this with Mrs Nick. Will I need to take a hip flask for entertainment?
I’d say take a tear-proof umbrella and plenty of comforting hugs. And rum. lots and lots of rum.
Dull, dull, dull, dull, dull. What a shame. Good book too, so they can’t blame the source material.
Frankly, I’m of the opinion that if you’re going to adapt a book, you should pick one with a picture of an exploding space craft/Samurai punching a dinosaur on the cover anyway.