'The Age Of Adaline' has the kind of storyline that sounds stupid when you try to explain it.
The title character rolls her car off a cliff, plunges into a pond and is then immediately struck by lightning. This does not kill her. Instead, magic science stuff you wouldn’t understand happens and she becomes 'immune to the ravages of time'. Not a cell in her body changes from that day forward and she remains, paused, at age 29.
Silly as this premise may be, I am a sucker for fantasy. And I especially love this subtle kind of fantasy where the world is portrayed as it is in real life but with one bizarre, supernatural element. So I was more than happy to see where they wanted to go with it.
Of the endless avenues that could have been explored by such a character, what did they chose? Love. Another Hollywood romance. Yay. Sarcastic though I may sound, I did my best to hold back from getting all judge-y. Love has always been a supreme theme for us humans and who am I to deny Hollywood the chance to explore it? Also, the trailer did look pretty good. There was epic music and lots of stuff happening really fast.
Unlike the (very misleading) trailer, however, the film was starved of life and energy. The whole thing had the feel of suspended animation, just as Adaline is suspended in time. The trailer advertises a sense of movement and intensity that’s just not there. The film, in reality, is tranquil, dreamy and slow moving. Of course, these aren’t necessarily bad things and were most likely intentional choices as they did give a 'trapped in amber' sort of feel which fitted Adaline’s predicament. And, even though there wasn’t a whole lot going on, I was nevertheless strangely captivated. I suspect it might be (at least in part) because I’d brought fluffy slippers and a cuddly shawl to the cinema. It’s quite possible this movie requires fluffy slippers and a cuddly shawl to be fully appreciated.
With layers of soft warmth around you, you’re quite happy to slowly weave through Adaline’s incredibly boring life with her. You would think an immortal would be doing at least something exciting. But, having been pursued by some Men-In-Black-looking guys in her early days, Adaline has worked out, down to the finest details, how to keep her immortality to herself. And that mostly involves being bland and inconspicuous and pushing away anyone who tries to get close.
Thankfully there is some action (albeit slow moving). Adaline’s love, though she tries to hold it back, keeps spilling out of her and this gets her into some quite confusing and dramatic situations. In the film, we’re carried along with her on what turns out to be the most important of these dramas. There are some stellar actors in this movie. When you don’t have a whole lot of action going on, it is up to the actors to hold the audience’s interest with the subtleties of their performance. Harrison Ford was a surprising show-stealer. He whole-heartedly embodied his character and, if you watch the little micro-movements of his face, you can read everything he’s thinking. This adds so much depth and richness – more than dialogue ever could – and made him fascinating to watch.
Whoever cast Anthony Ingruber as the younger incarnation of Harrison Ford’s character deserves an Oscar for that choice alone. The resemblance is astonishing but what will really blow you away is his voice. It’s worth the ticket price alone.
Ellen Burstyn is lovely as Adaline’s grandma-looking daughter. She perfectly balances this strange role, acting her elderly age but also conveying hints of a 'don’t tell me what to do mum' attitude. I have loved her since I saw her in 'Requiem For A Dream' and she is as adorable in Adaline as she was grotesque in 'Requiem'.
The film, on a whole, is quite nicely woven together. But, at its heart, it is a predictable, formulaic romance, complete with cringe-inducing cheese-smothered dialogue. Right before her first kiss with the man she’s falling in love with, Adaline pauses and whispers “tell me something I can hold on to forever and never let go” and he replies “let go”, before they passionately embrace. That’s not just cheesy, it’ weird. Who says things like that?
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In true Hollywood style, the movie follows the tried and tested formula for a romance. If you’ve ever seen a romantic drama before, you already know what’s going to happen and probably don’t need to watch it. Having said that (and keep in mind this is coming from someone who hates romance films), this is one of the better ones. Regardless of how you felt about the movie, you will leave with an awesome sense of gratitude for the transience and breakability of your life.
My favourite part though, and where it truly transcends many other films of its genre, is that it rejects the typical Hollywood idea that we all need to find our one true love. What Adaline finds is just a little bit ground-breaking: you can have more than one great and true love in your life and the greatness and trueness of one in no way lessens the greatness and trueness of any other.
