“A Wrinkle in Time” Review
This review must be prefaced by saying that A Wrinkle in Time is one of the most beloved stories in the world and has been translated into many languages. It was one of my favorite stories, and one of my first experiences with what I would later learn is sci-fi/fantasy. For those reasons, A Wrinkle in Time holds a very dear place in my heart. Ava DuVernay tackles an extremely challenging film with the zeal and enthusiasm that we would all want to see done with the film. The film is fairly loyal to the book and gives us a visually stunning and enthralling atmosphere, but has its shortcomings. There are some characters missing or changed significantly in the film, such as the twins and the Happy Medium being a man (Zach Galifianakis) instead of female as she was in the book.
I’m a huge fan of Ava, and I think she does fantastic work both behind the camera and out in the real world. She is a beacon of light and hope, and I love her for that. Tackling A Wrinkle in Time is not an easy task, and she did it with openness and love for the stories and the characters she was presenting to the world. The story follows Meg (Storm Reid), her brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and her friend Calvin (Levi Miller) as they travel through time and space to rescue Meg’s father (Chris Pine), a scientist who has gone missing. With the help of three mystical beings, Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling), Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey) and Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), they embark on a journey that is as magical as it is dangerous.
The visuals in this film are beyond compare and continue to up the ante in respects to special effects. The colors are vibrant, and the way that Ava chose to show some very complicated visuals is nothing short of stunning. The colors in the film are beautiful and mesmerizing, giving a vibrant place in which our story can take place.
The performances by each of the actors are great. The child actors do a spectacular job with the material and work well together. I would argue that a lot of the advertising for the film is a bit misleading in letting us think that the adult characters are in the film much more. The story focuses on Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin working to find her father. I would’ve love to see more of the Mrs. in the film, but cutting down a book to a film is very difficult, and things need to be changed. While people may argue that the more famous actors don’t ever disappear into their characters, I’d point out that the casting was pretty great to select actresses who really embody what you’d expect the Mrs to be and act like.
Where I feel that A Wrinkle in Time struggles is the relationships and chemistry between the characters. On their own, each performance is good and solid, but when put together, they seem to be so distant from one another. The film fails to elicit the emotional response that the audience needs. We need to feel the connection and love between Charles Wallace and Meg and their love and longing for their father who has gone missing. This all seems to be missing in the film, and I can’t quite pinpoint where it went wrong.
While A Wrinkle in Time is incredibly ambitious in its endeavors, both visually and tackling such a beloved story, the audience doesn’t feel a strong enough connection to the characters and therefore the whole film suffers. Ava DuVernay is truly a visionary director and given the right material, can work magic behind the camera. A Wrinkle in Time is still magical and maintains the wonder of childhood, but needed more emotion for the adults in the audience.
