AMB Reviews

The Time Traveler's Wife: 7/10 Stars

Release Date: August 14, 2009

Content Advisory: Rated PG-13 thematic elements, brief disturbing images, nudity and sexuality. Many instances of passionate kissing, which usually leads to sex (off screen). Several shots of bare buttocks, as well as one brief glance at the side of a woman's breast. A man is seen shot, with blood pooling out of his bullet wound. A woman is seen several times with blood pooling around her after several mis-carriages.

Review:

"The Time Traveler's Wife" really never ended up being as epic as it said to be, but was still heartfelt and touching...

In Short:

Rachel McAdams (who previously starred in the chick flick hit, "The Notebook") and Eric Bana lead "The Time Traveler's Wife," a romance film about a man who travels back and forth through time in his life, never knowing when or where he'll end up. Of course, this eventually causes problems when he meets Claire... the love of his life. But how can they love each other and marry when he can't control when he will disappear? It's a thought provoking and confusing film that is similar to a complex board game: it takes a while to understand, but once you get used to it, it's pretty easy to get the hang of.

In Full:

No matter how hard Henry tries... he can't help himself from randomly disappearing and traveling back and forth through time to different periods of his life. Of course, this definitely has its up (as he gets to see things ahead in his future and relive good memories of the past), but he mainly looks at it as a curse. And when he falls for Claire and they decide to marry, they're going to have to brave it out and make it work through all of his disappearances. It's a gripping premise that will really get you thinking. It's quite confusing at first, but you eventually get the hang of it. The pacing seemed a bit redudant and the ending a bit rushed, but it was heartfelt and quite touching.

I've enjoyed Rachel McAdams ever since I saw her performance in "The Notebook." Here, she plays a struggling lover who is trying her best to love her husband, even when he isn't always there for her. In the end, she turns in a low-key, powerful, and very sweet performance. Eric Bana was not as good. Many times, he seemed to be reading right off a script and he delivered his lines in a very corny and unrealistic way. His performance didn't come off quite as believable, but he did have some good moments. The supporting cast really wasnt given much else to do, and so I was really only left with McAdams for a solid and consistent performance.

The whole movie kept quite a beautiful backdrop with gorgeous scenery. I don't know what it was... but the whole ora of this film just seemed almost majestic. It kept a romantic, flowing, and very serene background and scenery. The visuals were clearly added trying to make this film seem so much more epic than it really was. It couldn't save the movie from its occasional redundancy, but it was enough to keep me thinking, "Wow! These visuals are great!"

As I mentioned before, the film had a tendency to become somewhat redundant. Besides the numerous and unneeded shots of many bare butts, I felt that every single kiss in the film led to sex. They didn't exactly show any of the sex, but it got to bug me when they couldn't just share a tender kiss without hopping into bed immediately after. The ending also seemed rushed and by the end credits, I left saying, "It's over already?! That was a great ending... but it seemed like such a cliffhanger." It's true... the ending seems quite abrupt, as good as it ended up being.

"The Time Traveler's Wife" in no way surpasses "The Notebook." It's not epic and it's not amazing. Rather, it's a pure and beautiful love story that starts off as quite confusing. This is a film with mediocre dialogue and only a couple of great actors. It isn't a masterpiece and will not be looked upon with as much love as, per say, "The Notebook." But all of that said, I still found myself entertained throughout. This film warmed me up inside and made me smile and made me want to cry. I didn't cry, due to the fact that I really didn't connect too much with the characters, but the movie's story and tenderness was good enough in itself to make this a worthwhile movie to look into.