Film Review: The Time Traveler's Wife
I read the novel upon which this film is based five years ago at a very emotional time in my life so, it hit me hard and I've remembered it. The romantic/fantasy feature film starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams is a nice adaptation and a great supernatural love story complete with the considerable charm, chemistry and charisma that the two lead actors bring to their characters.
Henry (Eric Bana) finds his eternal soulmate in Clare (Rachel McAdams), and she in him. Messing up their relationship is Henry's ''genetic anomaly'' that causes him to fade in and out at any moment's notice. Henry is hopping around in time with zero control and can appear anywhere in his past or future in the buff! Time hops, it seems, can only be accomplished al buffo so the poor guy has to scurry around, finding clothes and figuring out how to survive in a new timeline.
From long-suffering adult Clare's point of view, a younger Henry might appear and not even know her. He first appeared to Clare when she was a child and he was in his 30's! Somehow, the soulmates stick it out until they marry, have a child and become even more desperate to find a way for Henry to stay put forever.
The story becomes repetitive as Bana's character pops in and out of Clare's life at odd and often inconvenient moments but the humor the sudden visits and disappearances sometimes elicit provides a good balance to the romantic fantasy and angst of the love story. Like many "gimmicky" fantasy movies, especially those involving time travel, a couple has to deal with a supernatural element that keeps messing up their relationship but, in this case, the film concentrates on the warm, emotional attachment between the two lovers rather than the sci-fi mechanism that impedes their love and the result sucks you into their story.
We root for time-hopping Henry and Clare to solve the mystery of the bizarro impediment to their love so that they can be together forever. When a child is added to the relationship, we wish even harder that Henry could "stick".
Like most time travel stories from Back to the Future to the romantic Somewhere in Time (rent it) some of the "hops" are illogical or hard to understand and all of these films seem to make their own rules. In some storylines, a person cannot appear in the same place at two different ages, in others, that's just fine and an older and younger "you" can interact. If you can just set the questions aside, you'll really enjoy this story of eternal love against all odds and Eric and Rachel just make it shine.
For a heartfelt romantic escape and a clutch-your-date night out.. 4 out of 5 stars
