Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams: 'The Time Traveler's Wife'
Is this new film a "spellbinding drama," or lacking "emotional truth"?
The Time Traveler's Wife is a "first-rate and spellbinding drama," said Pete Hammond in Boxoffice Magazine. Based on the best-selling novel by Audrey Niffenegger, and starring the perfectly paired Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams, this "handsomely produced" film combines "elements of sweepingly romantic time travel movies like Somewhere In Time and the supernatural swoon of Ghost." (watch the trailer for The Time Traveler's Wife)
The "thoroughness" and attention to detail in The Time Traveler's Wife "may impress fans" of the book, said Nick Pinkerton in The Village Voice, "but will disappoint anyone looking for transport from a movie—being a time traveler's wife, it turns out, is mostly a drag." And there's too much focus on the lead character's "tendency to inconveniently melt in and out of the present, finding himself unceremoniously stranded somewhere in time, naked."
Not only that, said Kirk Honeycutt in The Hollywood Reporter, but there's just "not enough emotional truth" to this film. Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams "make you feel the pain and the ultimate acceptance of their dilemma but never convey the magic that allows the couple to persevere through such a grand but trying love." There are also "no light touches" to this movie, and "the treacle comes on a little too strong toward the end."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
More movies: The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, District 9, Julie & Julia, A Perfect Getaway, Cold Souls
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Making a police state out of the liberal university'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
8 looming climate tipping points that imperil our planet
The Explainer New reports detail the thresholds we may be close to crossing
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Try 6 free issues of The Week Junior
Spark your child's curiosity with The Week Junior - the award-winning current affairs magazine for 8-14s.
By The Week Published