What comes to mind whenever I watch The Age of Adaline is the idea of perfection. What does it mean to be perfect? Is it to stay young and beautiful? Or maybe wise and elegant? Blake Lively as Adaline is all of these things. However, she is far from perfect. She never gets old and has all the advantages that agelessness can give. But, it is only at the end of the film, when she finds an impurity that she actually believes that she is now perfect. Time can be cruel. We are born and then we grow up and wither away, like all things in this planet. But to stay forever the same is a curse of its own, and The Age of Adaline teaches us that eternal youth does not have the perks we think it has.
Movie Information:
Genre:
Romance / Drama / Fantasy
Main Cast:
Blake Lively
Michiel Huisman
Harrison Ford
Ellen Burstyn
Lynda Boyd
Kathy Baker
Distributed By:
Lionsgate
Duration:
1 hour and 53 minutes
Movie Rating:
6.0/10
Plot:
Adaline Bowman was the first person to be born in the U.S. in January 1st 1908. Twenty-one years later she married and had a child. However, due to an accident at the newly-built Golden Gate Bridge, Adaline lost her husband. A few months later she would be in a car crash, but due to the unique circumstances of the accident, she became immune to the ravages of time. Six decades later Adaline is running from the law, hiding her identity, in fear of what might become of her if people knew that she could not age. Her only true companions are her dog and her now-elderly daughter, Flemming. Adaline works at a public library and is changing her identity for a fourth time, leaving her third life behind her. However, against her better judgement, she falls in love with philanthropist Ellis Jones at a New Year’s Eve party. Even though she becomes enamored by him, she is afraid of revealing her secret, but at the same time she does not want to push him out of her life.
Directing and Writing:
The Age of Adaline gives off a very sophisticated kind of feel. It is a beautiful love story that Lee Toland Krieger is bent on telling through the protagonist’s point of view. The plot itself is simple. A woman does not age, and as such she can never form any true attachment to others. She watches the world evolve and progress, and yet she biologically stays the same forever. Some people may scoff at this. Immortality is an ever-lasting dream for humanity. But the movie makes an excellent point of how it can negatively affect a person.
In my opinion what is lacking in the film’s directing, is made up with the writing. The script is both tasteful and simple. However, this movie is just that. Simple. It is romantic, but I would argue that romance itself is not its epicenter. It is a part of Adaline’s life, but what is key to this movie is how well it portrays the tragedy of loneliness, and how tantalizing the idea of love is. Furthermore, what makes The Age of Adaline so noteworthy is the intimacy of Blake Lively’s eye-catching performance as the titular character.
Characters:
Blake Lively as Adaline is the epitome of gracefulness. She can be considered as stereotypically perfect. She is wise and gentle, well-spoken and sophisticated. She sees the true nature and potential of others. But that is far from the truth. She has many flaws, the main one being that she pushes good people away. The only person who she confides in is her daughter Flemming. Both of them are bonded with much more that the usual mother-daughter relationship. They share a well-kept secret, and they have matured together spiritually, albeit only Flemming biologically.
With Ellis, Adaline experiences a love that can shatter her way of living. In him she finds new hope, understanding that she no longer needs to run away and hide from people. She is tired of hurting others and she believes she can finally begin anew. However, I do think that their love story, no matter how romantic and heartwarming, is too rushed. As a couple they have a few emotionally delightful moments, but their relationship leaves too much for the audience’s imagination at times.
I have to admit that reviewing this film was difficult. It is one of my favorite romantic films, but in Cinetomia I have made a vow to be as objective as I can be. For this reason, I gave it a 6.0/10. Its soundtrack is dynamic and its cinematography gives off a nostalgic kind of feel. But it lacks in directing and it is carried solely by its cast and the premise of its plot. I feel it also must be said that Harrison Ford was not given much in this movie, since he doesn’t do much. I find his involvement as a wasted opportunity for such a well-known actor.
But I also believe that when people watch this movie they are left with a sigh of calmness. What you see is what you get, and in this case, you get a romantic story. “Elegant” is a word that I have repeatedly used in this review, but it is the most appropriate definition for this production. Us viewers can easily sympathize with Adaline and we hope for her happiness. Because above all else, the theme of this movie is true: “Love is heartbreak for those who have abundant time”.
Overall, I would say that The Age of Adaline is nothing special. However, that doesn’t make it in any way a movie not worth watching. If you find yourself in the mood for a feel-good and calming movie, this should definitely be at the top of your list. It isn’t perfect, but after all, much like Adaline, nothing is without its flaws.
Written by Demetris Bougiouris