Time is a fascinating dimension, cinematically and otherwise. The passage of time is a phenomenon that is simultaneously unavoidable and easily avoided. We are, all of us, the oldest we’ve ever been and the youngest we’ll ever be again. What would happen and how would one spend their days if time were no longer a finite commodity?
“The Age of Adaline” takes that intriguing concept and uses it to tell a well-meaning and well-crafted love story. The only major gripe I have about “The Age of Adaline” is its gross negligence regarding its source of dramatic momentum. The time factor, the fact that the main character, played wonderfully by Blake Lively, has not aged a day in nearly 80 years is the story’s catalyst and primary source of fuel – however it is used as the mechanical equivalent of a diving board. It’s a great source of potential energy and it converts that potential into kinetic energy to set the story in motion. Unfortunately, the camera pans away from the still-wobbling diving board to focus on the beautiful girl hurtling towards the water. While the girl certainly is picturesque, the truest story is how the girl and diving board interact and the ripples they create in time.
The writing nibbles very gingerly around the edges of what it means to be immortal. The more complicated, and by extension the more interesting, issues are all but unaddressed. It feels very much like the filmmakers were worried about diluting or over-complicating the story by further exploration. Quite the contrary, their absence was strongly noted by this reviewer.
The production design is appropriate and the journey through time is well-rendered on screen. Furthermore, Blake Lively and Harrison Ford deliver compelling performances. That said, the headline dramatic interaction between Lively and Ford’s characters is too focused on the reveal and not the implications.
“The Age of Adaline” is well-meaning but never lives up to its potential. What could have been timeless is instead relegated to a tried-and-true entry in the time-honored, but easily forgotten pantheon of cinematic love affairs.
4 of 6 stars