The Time Traveler’s Wife

After reading ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ last year, my expectations for the film were suitably high. With a perfect cast and a truly fantastic story, I was already absolutely certain I was in for a two-hour-long-ish treat when I saw the film at my local Odeon this week.

Before Audrey Niffenegger had even finished writing the novel, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s company Plan B Entertainment has acquired the rights to create a screenplay of the same name and based on the novel, and when the film started to come together, it looked positively epic.

‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ is about Henry DeTamble, a man with a genetic disorder which causes him to spontaneously and unpredictably travel through time. In an interesting and complicated story, he falls in love with an artist named Clare Abshire, who he gets to know at various different time points during his life and hers.

With the gorgeous Eric Bana cast as Henry and the stunning Rachel McAdams as Clare, the film captured the picture exactly as it had played in my head as I read the novel. The captivating, intriguing and incredibly unique story of the couple’s love is the backbone of both the novel and the film, and the flawless performances from the leading actors will introduce the concept of ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ well for new viewers, and enhance the understanding for those who have already experienced the magic of Niffenegger’s vision.

A number of reviewers have said ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ is the film ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ ought to have been, but I find the two vastly different, and ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ certainly holds a different feel and ambience. It’s truly individual in its approach, message and disposition, echoing aspects of pioneering films in the ‘forbidden love novel turned film’ genre such as ‘The Notebook’ (also starring McAdams) and ‘Atonement’.

Though nowhere near as good as the book, this film is incredibly well done, and where cuts were necessary for the sake of length, the correct decisions were certainly made. This is a beautiful, beautiful film that is definitely worth your time – and there should be no waiting for it to come out on DVD; this is one you’ll enjoy most in the theatre.