“A Wrinkle in Time” is a such a strange, forced mishmash of, well, everything that you can’t help feeling confused by it all. Did the creators read the book? Did they understand the appeal of the book in any way? Because if they did, it certainly didn’t show in the film adaptation.
“A Wrinkle in Time” is an adaptation of the 1962 novel of the same name. It’s the second movie adaptation of the book, after a poorly received TV movie was created in 2003.
Perhaps I’m biased, since I read the book. It was a mandatory novel during my childhood days, but I don’t think anyone in my class ever regretted reading it. It combined elements of science fiction (how it explained the concept of the instantaneous transportation technique known as “tessering”) and emotion (how Meg defeated the villain in the final few pages of the book), appealed to both genders (I discussed the book with a lady who had a radically different takeaway from me), and was pretty groundbreaking for something written in 1962.
The execution of all these elements failed to do justice to the book. Again, maybe my expectations were too high, or I had a preconceived notion of how these characters from my childhood should have looked.
But my biggest disappointment was how they took the evocative villain of the book, IT the giant brain, and turned it to IT the giant mass of generic black tentacles in the film.
The creative decisions behind the visuals are just baffling. Honestly, a giant brain would have been far more memorable than generic evil tentacles, especially if they had the budget to execute it well. And judging from the sheer number of costume changes that Mrs Which (Oprah Winfrey), Mrs Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), and Mrs Who (Mindy Kaling) have, it’s pretty evident that they did have means to create a proper, villainous, CGI brain.
It doesn’t help that the the three supernatural guardians are grossly miscast, with the exception of Oprah Winfrey. In the novel, they’re described as old ladies akin to rotund elderly grandmothers. The movie has them looking much younger, which isn’t a bad idea until you realise that Reese Witherspoon’s doddering antics don’t quite work for a woman of her age. In fact, they make her look like she’s brain damaged rather than absent-minded. It’s a horribly piece of characterisation, and one that makes you wonder why someone of such gross incompetence can be a cosmic guardian in the first place.
Charles Wallace, the younger brother of Meg, is supposed to be a hyper intelligent young prodigy – but Deric McCabe’s delivery comes off as badly memorised and way too eager to please. He reminds you of those irritating little children who memorise big words for the sake of impressing adults, even though he hardly knows what all those multi-syllabic words mean. You can clearly see he doesn’t half of the words he utters, because he’s just reciting them in as sickeningly smarmy a way as possible.
Storm Reid performs magnificently as Meg Murry though, despite the fact that she’s surrounded by ineptly cast characters. She conveys her sense of inner conflict well, such that you can understand the sort of difficulties she faces without her having to spell it out. Unfortunately, this change in characterisation and plot (from the book) butchers the spirit of the original, but she makes the best of what she’s given. Her co-star Levi Miller, who plays her future husband Calvin (that’s not going to be a surprise, I’m sure), is okay.
Somehow, “A Wrinkle in Time” doesn’t seem as magical or amazing as the title makes it out to be. Maybe it hinged too much on the nostalgia factor, or it attempted to update it too drastically. Regardless, the film is a terrible letdown, even if you’ve never read the book before. And if you’ve read it, I strongly urge you to. It is so much better in comparison to the film.
Should you watch this at all? If you really loved the book.
Should you watch this if it’s free? Maybe.
Score: 1.0/5
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 109 minutes (~1.75 hours)
“A Wrinkle in Time” is a fantasy film based on the book of the same name. It is the second film adaptation to be made.
It follows the adventures of a young girl as she goes on a quest through time and space to rescue her father from a nameless evil. In the process, she learns that there is more to the universe than she could ever imagine.
“A Wrinkle in Time” is directed by Ava DuVernay, with a screenplay by Jennifer Lee and Jeff Stockwell. It stars Storm Reid (Meg Murry), Oprah Winfrey (Mrs Which), Reese Witherspoon (Mrs Whatsit), Mindy Kaling (Mrs Who), Levi Miller (Calvin O’Keefe), Deric McCabe (Charles Wallace), Chris Pine (Dr Alexander Murry), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Dr Kate Murry), Zach Galifianakis (Happy Medium), Michael Pena (The Man with Red Eyes), and David Oyelowo (IT).
“A Wrinkle in Time” opens in cinemas:
– 8 March, 2018 (Singapore)
– 8 March, 2018 (Malaysia)
– 14 March, 2018 (Philippines)
This is an original article on marcusgohmarcusgoh.com
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I’m a Singapore television scriptwriter who’s written for Lion Mums, Crimewatch, Police & Thief, and Incredible Tales. I’m also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. You can find me on social media as Optimarcus and on my site.
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