A Wrinkle In Time - movie review

A Wrinkle In Time

Plot: After the disappearance of her scientist father, three peculiar beings send Meg, her brother, and her friend to space in order to find him.
Cast: Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling
Director: Ava DuVernay
Certificate: PG (mild threat)
Runtime: 1hr 49 mins
Release Date: Friday 23rd March 2018

A Wrinkle In Time was a novel first published in 1962 by Madeleine L'Engle which has been deemed one of the most impossible to adapt works of fiction of all time. Disney have already tried to tackle L'Engle's work once before in 2003 as a television film but that received less than stellar reviews. Fifteen years later, Disney are giving it another crack with a mega budget, top Hollywood stars and a breakthrough director at the helm. How did it turn out?

Seems like he's not a fan of the orange wallpaper.

The best thing I can say about A Wrinkle In Time is that it had the best of intentions. For a supposed impossibility, DeVernay and her entire cast and crew give it their best shot and for that, I can't really dock the movie any points for that. The plot of A Wrinkle In Time is difficult to grasp so I do suggest that if you have children under the age of ten, perhaps leave them at home or choose something else because this is a very heavy, complex and bizarre film that might leave younger viewers perplexed. The film starts with Chris Pine and Gugu Mbatha-Raw teaching their daughter about molecular physics and the prospect of universal travel. We then cut to five years later and it's revealed that Pine has vanished, reportedly after discovering a Tesseract causing him to travel through the universe in the blink of an eye. Meg (Storm Reid) and her adoptive brother, Charles-Wallace, are soon greeted by three peculiar beings labelling themselves as protectors of the universe and soon acquire Meg, her brother and Meg's classmate Calvin (Levi Miller) to aid in the search for Meg's father and to save the universe as we know it. As you can see, it's not your typical Mickey Mouse affair. Following on from her powerful debut with Selma, DuVernay is a director to watch and certainly has a keen eye for visual storytelling, one that we're likely to see expanded upon for her adaptation of the New Gods film based on the series of DC comics. DuVernay has constructed a beautiful looking movie with luscious cinematography and set design and some truly innovative visual effects including a transformation sequence in which Reese Witherspoon morphs into a giant leaf winged creature. The only slip-up I noticed about the visual effects regarded Oprah Winfrey. As we meet Oprah for the first time, she's of a gigantic size, towering over the other characters. One could say that this is how most envision Oprah anyway but after the initial eye-opener, it looked rather silly. Winfrey soon manages to shrink down to normal size and be the source of wisdom she so often is, but of the three guardians, her's was the least interesting. Mindy Kaling played another who could only speak in quotes from others and that quirk was able to draw upon a few laughs and pop culture nods as she references Chris Tucker and Hamilton. However, of the main three, it's Witherspoon who makes the best impression as the bubbly, optimistic and fresh-faced being that we first meet. Unfortunately, the way these characters and this exuberant reality is introduced is the biggest criticism about A Wrinkle In Time. Everything simply happens without much of a rationale nor explanation. Our young trio rarely ever question the strange people who have broken into their house or are seemingly nonchalant about a young child running off into the distance to gleefully join a stranger in a quest. Not that I would ever be in this situation but if I was confronted by three supernatural presences (one of which being a ten foot projection) and told that I am the key to saving the universe as my garden begins to fracture and ripple, I'd begin to question who slipped LSD into my drink.

When the 7th shot of Tequila hits and you feel invincible.

FACT: The cast and crew shot scenes in New Zealand for two weeks. During shooting, they were treated to a traditional Maori powhiri and Kara Kia by the indigenous peoples of New Zealand. The cast and crew enjoyed shooting in New Zealand and frequently spoke about their love for the country.

As the movie speeds along at quite a exhilarating pace, it occasionally seems to skip over some vital information causing me, and others that I have spoken with, to think that I must have missed an integral exposition scene (one that was shown in the trailers yet absent from the final product). We hadn't missed a thing but gaps in the story were unmistakable. For extensive periods of time, the movie just asks us to 'go with it' as discussions about quantum theory and universal displacement are tossed around as if it were two people chatting about what they had for dinner. Whilst the visuals might take your breath away, the story is fairly difficult to attach to. Luckily, there is a saving grace to A Wrinkle In Time and that's it's beating heart and beautiful soul. When you're not scratching your head in confusion, you're smiling from ear to ear as it feels you with an undeniable sense of joy. Despite a muddled story that struggles with flow and structure, you can't help but fall for these characters. Aside from the villains, I found myself emotionally committed to everyone in the film and their individual motivations. Meg is our would-be destined hero and is brought to life by Storm Reid who makes one hell of an impact. Reid exudes such confidence in a role of this stature and conveys an unbelievable amount of humanity and vulnerability. She has a brain far beyond her years but also still has the playful imagination of the child that she is. DuVernay has also made a wonderful find in the form of Deric McCabe as Charles-Wallace. Rattling off dialogue at a million miles a minute and using words that only an Oxford professor could explain, McCabe is given a challenging role to work with that gets even tougher as we near the third act. Even Levi Miller find redemption in his character after the diabolical 2015 trip to NeverLand; Pan. As for Chris Pine, this is a role where he gets to really flex his acting muscles like never before. He is an emotionally broken and damaged man that has been thrown across the entire universe (literally) and now faces a life of loneliness and solitude. Without wanting to give away too much, Pine and Reid share a scene that will bring a tear to your eye. It's these themes of loving your friends and family and accepting yourself for who you are rather than who you're expected to be that make A Wrinkle In Time a worthy recommendation in my books. It's even more appropriate due to the current political and social climate we live in.

Those are some funky looking scarecrows.

Despite many critics describing it as a mixed bag, I'd argue that A Wrinkle In Time is worth a shot if you're willing to forgive its narrative shortcomings to appreciate the overwhelming heart at the centre. DuVernay might not have destroyed the myth that L'Engle's novel is inadaptable but she's given it a bloody good shot with terrific talent behind her.

My Verdict: 7/10

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