Love Knows No Boundaries
The Time Traveler's Wife
By Daryl Tan
Director: Robert Schwentke
Starring: Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams, Arliss Howard, Ron Livingston, Jane McLean, Michelle Nolden, Brooklyn Proulx, Hailey McCann, Tatum McCann, Stephen Tobolowsky
Official website: http://www.thetimetravelerswifemovie.com/
Pick up a sheet of paper and a pen, jot down titles The Shining, The Scarlet Letter, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Bicentennial Man. Add The Time Traveler's Wife to the lineup. And there you have it: a list of outstanding novels reworked into not-so-outstanding movies. Whatever happened to another Godfather or Last Temptation of Christ?
While most American girls nowadays might scream for daddy if a bare-naked man under the guise of a time traveler accosts them in a secluded meadow, young Claire Abshire (a blossoming Brooklynn Proulx) seems to live in an age of greener innocence. She buys into his story after watching him literally disappear before her eyes, and even provides him with food and clothing on his next visits, developing a fond affection for her new elusive friend.
However, research librarian Henry DeTamble (Eric Bana) is not a pedophile. And even if he was, international courts shouldn't waste their time and resources bothering. Nab him and minutes later he vanishes. Due to a mutant genetic strain, Henry is destined to sporadically teleport through time and space. This uncontrollable curse (or gift to some) allows him to converse with his mother whom he lost to a car accident in early childhood, and even surpass death to glimpse his daughter in her teenage years
Conflict sets in when Henry eventually weds adult Claire (a blossomed Rachel McAdams) and the couple has to cope with his frequent disappearing acts. Further straining their relationship, their child inherits dad's mutant time-travel gene, resulting in Claire having to suffer several miscarriages before finally conceiving.
Thematically, The Time Traveler's Wife is let down by a shallow script. Bruce Joel Rubin (who wrote the classic 1990 hit Ghost), chose this time round to skim through weighty discourses on human relationships, love and the quandary of distance. Loose ends are left to linger, untied. How Henry transforms from depressed alcoholic to model husband within the blink of an eye is beyond me. And I'm sure any cubicle serf or hard-pressed student would love to figure out the time-traveler's trick to disappearing from his day job for hours, sometimes weeks on end without facing any repercussions.
What the film does well though is paint a quaint, enchanting visual landscape for audiences to savor. Lush, lively fields of multi-colored flora which accompany Claire are juxtaposed with the dank alleyways and dwellings which Henry inhabits. These portraits lend more depth to the characters than the thin storyline.
And what director Robert Schwentke does really well is allow the camera to adoringly caress the features of captivating Rachel McAdams. Transiting from bright-eyed bushy-tailed artist to drained spouse, her emotionally honest performance makes the audience want to care. The film would just be an hour and a half too long otherwise.
Abandon the idea of watching The Time Traveler's Wife if you're expecting anything remotely related to sci-fi or Groundhog Day. This is purely a romance drama, at times contrived, at times moving, and sure to bring on sympathetic teardrops from sentimental ones in the audience when the ending unfolds. As for me, I was bemoaning the dearth of a potentially more poignant rumination of love and loss akin to Audrey Niffenegger's original story. Thank you Hollywood.
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