A Wrinkle in Time (2018)

Movie Info

Either they fit the story or they should be in a 1970s disco glam band

Acclaimed experimental scientist Dr. Alexander Murry (Chris Pine) has disappeared while working on a groundbreaking experiment…and four years later his family Kate Murry (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), Meg (Storm Reid), and Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) are still picking up the pieces while facing judgmental members of the community.  When Charles Wallace makes contact with women named Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling), and Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), Charles Wallace, Meg, and her friend Calvin O’Keefe (Levi Miller) find themselves on an adventure that spans the galaxy…and could lead them to Dr. Murry in the process.

Directed by Ava DuVernay, A Wrinkle in Time is a Walt Disney adaptation of the Newbery Medal winning classic 1962 novel by Madeleine L’Engle.  Previous adapted in 2003 as a TV movie and distributed by Disney, this big budget adaptation was not well received by critics and was considered a box office failure.

Now Reese Witherspoon turned into a flying piece of lettuce (that also stole its look from Princess Mononoke)

I loved A Wrinkle in Time growing up.  The series of books (or at least the first three) were the type of books you read over and over again.  A Wrinkle in Time was by far the strongest of the books, but this movie adaptation seems to have lost the heart.

The movie attempts to keep the heart of the movie overtly.  The story talks about Meg’s love and compassion repeatedly since that is a major theme of the book…Meg is driven by emotion.  The movie however tries to really pour on the spectacle of the story which overrides the story.  I’ll admit that the novel itself hasn’t necessarily aged well and that there are big, forgettable chunks, but it feels like the storytelling is rushed and missing any tone (which is amazing since the movie is almost two hours and feels it).

Poor Meg…you deserve better…

The cast really can’t be faulted.  I thought Storm Reid was a good Meg.  There were complaints about the diversification of the story, though it doesn’t really affect the story.  I do feel that Deric McCabe was out of his league as Charles Wallace who didn’t really get to develop here (and the story also had him adopted which opens the door to he was born “special”…I liked that the magic and abilities of Charles Wallace can come from two scientific minds as it does in the book).  Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling play the Mrs. who are larger than life so anyone will struggle in the role.  Zach Galifianakis is the Happy Medium (the Aunt Beast portion is eliminated).

How can a totally creepy scene miss the impact so greatly?

The visuals are strong, but they aren’t revolutionary at the same time.  The movie puts the visuals in the forefront over the story, but the visuals look like they could have been made ten years ago…I feel if they are going to make the visuals the thrust of the story, they should be mind-melting…or, they could have just returned to the strength of the story.  The whole last sequence with IT is so devout of feeling that it is boring (which isn’t what they were going for).

A Wrinkle in Time is a disappointment, but it was also set-up as a disappointment.  It isn’t an easy adaptation and anyone would struggle, but decisions made in the scripting seem a bit illogical.  A great example is the ball dribbling scene which is much more significant (and terrifying) in the novel with a child unable to fit in…all eliminated and written off here.  For a movie about darkness creeping in and corrupting people and the power needed to expel it, A Wrinkle in Time is just as heartless and emotionless as its villain IT.