As any “Harry Potter” fan will tell you, condensing a well-loved book into a 2 hour film isn’t easy – just ask Chris Columbus. Trying to shoehorn Audrey Niffenegger’s complex story of love, time travel and ultimately loss might give Mr Columbus nightmares.
It’s a testament to director Robert Schwentke’s skill then that he manages to form a coherent and lean film from Bruce Joel Rubin’s screenplay. Starting in the present, Henry meets 20-year-old Clare for the first time in a Chicago Library, only she has seen him countless times already, as he visits from the present to her past.
An unashamed love story from start to finish, the film manages to convey the difficulties this scenario can bring to any relationship whilst keeping the movie dark enough so as not to stray into daytime Channel 5 weepie territory.
Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana fit the roles well, particularly Bana who impresses most towards the end of the movie as his fate draws closer. Given that the novel is primarily about love, some might find it odd that the couple, once together, argue as much as they do – time travel can be a pain – but most will simply absorb themselves into Clare and Henry’s world for a while.
Doing well to bypass the novel’s uncomfortable teen sexual tension, Henry’s scenes with the young Clare are comic and light, while those with his future daughter frame the movie well as it draws to a climax.
Choosing to ignore the novel’s ending, the film here keeps both characters young, which some might find disappointing. In a story about love and time, isn’t the original idea of waiting and waiting for the final glimpse of your loved one ultimately far more romantic than the more youthful hope brought around by Rubin’s adaptation?
Perhaps they have Mr Columbus already lined up for the sequel – Great Scott!Check out more film reviews at my blog www.danclayworld.blogspot.com
