Age of Adaline Review

Sometimes movies are just ok.  Not great but not total crap either.  Right in the middle and that’s fine.  After all, we can’t expect masterpieces all the time!

The new movie Age of Adaline (funny contrast to Age of Ultron!) fits that description. It’s fine.  I’m glad I saw it but it is a definite mixed bag.

Basically it is about a woman named Adaline who has a car accident and is struck by lightning which makes her have the power to never age. She is played by the stunning Blake Lively.  She looks gorgeous in the clothes from every era (except for one very bad wig in the 60s). It feels like she has an old soul and Lively even has the posture and quiet way of speaking you’d expect from someone born in 1908.

After being pursued as a communist in the 50’s she becomes scared and decides to change her name, occupation and identity every 10 years (all the while staying in the Bay Area in California).

There is a narration in the movie which is so annoying.  For some reason the creators felt they needed to provide some kind of ridiculous scientific explanation for what is happening to Adaline and while the narrator is babbling on about neurons and atoms aligning with the moon I wanted to shut him off.  Honestly I laughed a lot it was so bad.

And it really takes away from the magic of the story this terrible narration.

Adaline had a daughter before all of this never aging but she did age and now is played by Ellen Burstyn who looks like her Grandmother. As weird as it sounds I bought them as this strange relationship. Ellen Burstyn has been in 2 movies playing a daughter who is older than her parent in 2 years.  Who would have thought of that!

She meets a man named Ellis played by Michiel Huisman who I believe is on Game of Thrones (don’t watch it).  He is good and very attractive.  They have good chemistry together.

Harrison Ford and Kathy Baker play Ellis’ parents and they are also very good. The casting all around really worked in this movie.

Anthony Ingruber plays a yougn Harrison Ford and it is uncanny.  He looks and sounds just like him.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen so close a non-family match in a movie ever.  It is amazing to watch and makes me wonder if they could use him for any young Star Wars scenes or maybe a Han Solo stand alone movie. Seriously look at this picture.  Don’t you think he looks like a young Harrison Ford?

There is a nice heart to Age of Adaline and like I said the performances are strong with good chemistry.  It also looks beautiful although a reliance on close ups got a little bit old.

Be warned there is a scene with a dog that made me cry.  It’s pretty emotional.

The problems with the film are how silly the whole premise is but like I said their attempt to take out the magic and make it about science fell completely flat.  I also didn’t think it made much sense for her to keep changing.  Sure maybe in the 60s but after years her panic seemed a little strange.

The narration is awful and some of the dialogue is very dopey.  Also while Lively is good it is a little one note.  It would have been nice to have seen more of her in the different ages.  Maybe a Forrest Gump style of storytelling but she fears having her picture taken and avoids it at all costs.  It ended up feeling like an ordinary domestic drama without any of the magic.

Still, not a total loss. I’m glad I saw it.  I’d give it a C.

Pretty tame content-wise.  There’s some sex but most of that is off screen and no other offensive content.

Any of you see it let me know.