A Wrinkle in Time – 4 out of 5
I’ve never read the book this film was based on so I don’t have a deep, nostalgic connection to the source material. However, when I saw the trailer, I was blown away with the potential beauty this film seemed capable of. I didn’t get a chance to see it in the theater and the savage reviews of it had me a tad concerned. A few close friends raved about it and, while on a Disney cruise recently (that’s why there hasn’t been any new reviews lately—Sorry, legion of readers that don’t exist), I got a chance to see it on the ship’s theater. There are times I agree with the critics and times I don’t and this is one where I don’t agree with them because I found A Wrinkle in Time to be something magical.
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| Walt Disney Pictures "Welcome to this alien planet. We forgot to check before we left but thankfully the environment is habitable for your human bodies." |
Meg Murray (Storm Reid) struggles hard at school and is considered a social outcast after her father (Chris Pines) mysteriously disappears. Her mother (Guyu Mbatha) tries to control her and get her to fly straight while her little brother; Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) starts to act strangely as he concocts reasons for Meg’s fellow schoolmate; Calvin (Levi Miller), to be around them and introduces them to a strange lady named Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling). One day, the kids are greeted by a woman calling herself Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon) and she introduces them to Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey). Which turns out to be a powerful being from beyond the stars and she has come to the children to let them know that their father is alive and has learn how to travel through space instantaneously but her good news comes with an ominous threat about a dark power gathering on the horizon. Now the kids must gather their wits and travel across the cosmos to save the man before a powerful dark entity called The It takes over the universe.
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| Walt Disney Pictures "And you get to save the universe! And you get to save the universe!" |
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| Walt Disney Pictures Who wouldn't want to travel across the universe to save a bearded Chris Pine? |
I won’t try and deny that this film doesn’t have some issues that hold it back but I won’t pretend either that I didn’t enjoy it. First off, the film is visually stunning. From the moment it starts to the end and to all of the gorgeous locales and scenery in-between, the film looks beautiful. Add in amazing costumes and makeup and it makes for a feature that was a visual feast and one that was so amazing to look at that it was hard to not tear up and be in awe of the designs that were unfolded in front of you. Secondly, the performances are terrific. There are some really great performers in the cast and they are doing a tremendous job. I was incredibly impressed with Storm Reid and Deric McCabe as Meg and Charles Wallace. Both were able to express the characters in a very dynamic way and watching Meg’s journey and seeing how Reid was able to deliver the pain and struggle that she went through was impressive beyond words.
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| Walt Disney Pictures Reid was damn impressive in this feature. |
The one element that struck me the hardest about the film was its heart and sentiment. While the mileage on this portion definitely varies from viewer to viewer, I found this movie very emotional and I openly wept like crazy. Too many of the themes and story points hit too close to home and when that was combined with the excellent performances from the likes of Reid, McCabe, Pine and Oprah, it made me cry like there was no tomorrow. In all honesty, the film sorta wrecked me emotionally while I watched it and this visceral reaction definitely painted my entire feelings for the film, making it easier to overlook some very noticeable shortcomings it contains.
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| Walt Disney Pictures Anytime I get to see Galifianakis in something is a good thing. |
The big problem this movie has is the form that it might be too ambitious and tries to tell too large of a story in too small of a time frame. This leads to a lot of development issues as the world-building and character introductions never feel organic and natural but rather forced. The plot also seems to be moving at a feverish pace and makes the whole experience feel like you are watching two films that were hastily concentrated into a single feature. This is the most distracting at the beginning but ends up feeling less noticeable as the movie progresses.
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| Walt Disney Pictures The flying lettuce monster felt a little strange too. |
A Wrinkle in Time isn’t flawless (I’m not making a wrinkle joke). It has some problems but, for me, the heart of it won me over more than the technical aspects of its storytelling. The content of the characters and the performances that highlighted this made it easy for me to be invested and, while I acknowledge its problems, this dynamic made it possible for me to forget about it and get sucked in.
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