Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? Yes.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? Yes.
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 112 minutes (~2 hours)
“Age of Adaline” is a semi-science fiction romance set across a century. It follows the tale of Adaline, a woman who cannot grow old, and her path of true love. It stars Blake Lively (Adaline/Jenny), Michiel Huisman (Ellis Jones), Harrison Ford (William Jones), Anthony Ingruber (Young William Jones), Ellen Burstyn (Flemming Prescott), and Kathy Baker (Kathy Jones).
“Age of Adaline” might appear to be a chick flick, but it’s so much more than that. It’s literally a timeless story that follows the tragedies and romances of Adaline and takes us across vastly different eras. It even has a good measure of science fiction thrown in, to explain Adaline’s condition. It features beautiful people, sets, and shots, and is just such a pleasure on the eyes that you’ll gladly immerse yourself into the world of the film.
Highlights
Gorgeous sets
From the period sets to the modern day locations, each place is dressed and crafted with loving detail and painstaking effort. There’s not a prop out of place in each shot – it’s clear that director spent as much time ensuring the sets were as beautiful as the actors in it. The incredible production values that went into the set designs create a compelling world that’s just breathtaking to behold.
Comely cast
Blake Lively and Michiel Huisman are amazingly good looking people, and to be completely shallow, you’ll spend more time marvelling at their appearances than at their performances. That’s not to say that their performances are in any way bad – they have great chemistry together, and the scope and depth of their love for each other is epic. But bolstered by the likes of Harrison Ford and Kathy Baker, who are both very well-maintained and seasoned thespians, and you’ve stepped into a fairytale world of ethereal beauties wandering the land.
Interesting premise
If you’re not into chick flicks, well, there’s the sci-fi element of the story. The backstory of Adaline’s condition provides a well placed break from the romance, giving us some action scenes and an intriguing aside from the main story. While it may not be integral to the story, it helps to treacle cut the romance and gives us some breathing space, thus enhancing the impact of the love story when we return to it.
Well paced drama and action
Despite being almost two hours long, the story develops quickly and provides us with plenty of twists and turns to keep us hooked on the film. In addition, there’s enough variation on the genre (switching between romance, to drama, to action, and to sci-fi) to keep what’s on screen fresh and interesting throughout the whole film. In fact, the story begins just when you think it’s about to end.
Letdowns
The love story feels slightly incestuous
Due to the machinations of the plot, Adaline’s lovers come across as a little too close and too similar for comfort. It’s probably not intentional, and there wouldn’t be such an epic sense of tragedy and loss without it, but upon hindsight it does feel rather awkward, once you have the big picture of what happened.
“Age of Adaline” is a magical story of love overcoming all boundaries, and a sweeping romance for the ages. With its splendid art design, it feels like a modern day fairytale, a story that’s too good to be true. But what’s best about the film is how easy it is on the eyes – you won’t regret watching it at all.
“Age of Adaline” opens in cinemas 30 April, 2015 (Thursday).
This review was also published on Yahoo Singapore.
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